TRAN Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
The committee commenced consideration of a draft report.
It was agreed, — That the committee proceed to sit in public.
At 11:37 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:48 a.m., the sitting resumed in public.
Leslyn Lewis moved, — Given that,
a. The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) recently admitted that it lost nearly $900,000 in consulting fees on the failed Lake Erie Connector project;
b. The Liberal government has refused to implement this committee’s recommendation to abolish the Canada Infrastructure Bank;
the committee conduct a study pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) on the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) involvement in the Lake Erie Connector project; that the study be comprised of no fewer than three meetings; that the committee invite the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, the Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), the Chief Investment Officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), and the Chief Financial Officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to appear as witnesses for no less than two hours each; and that the committee report its findings to the House.
At 12:08 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:23 p.m., the sitting resumed.
Vance Badawey moved, — That the motion be amended by deleting the words “Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, the”, and the words “no fewer than” before the words “three meetings”.
Angelo Iacono moved, — That the committee do now adjourn.
The question was put on the motion and it was negatived on the following recorded division:
YEAS: Vance Badawey, Angelo Iacono, Annie Koutrakis, Jennifer O'Connell, Churence Rogers — 5;
NAYS: Taylor Bachrach, Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Chris Lewis, Leslyn Lewis, Dan Muys, Mark Strahl — 6.
At 1:00 p.m., the Chair suspended the meeting until 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
At 11:04 a.m., on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, the sitting resumed.
The committee resumed consideration of the motion of Leslyn Lewis moved on Thursday, February 1, 2024 which read as follows:
Given that,
a. The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) recently admitted that it lost nearly $900,000 in consulting fees on the failed Lake Erie Connector project;
b. The Liberal government has refused to implement this committee’s recommendation to abolish the Canada Infrastructure Bank;
the committee conduct a study pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) on the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) involvement in the Lake Erie Connector project; that the study be comprised of no fewer than three meetings; that the committee invite the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, the Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), the Chief Investment Officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), and the Chief Financial Officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to appear as witnesses for no less than two hours each; and that the committee report its findings to the House.
and of the amendment of Vance Badawey moved on Thursday, February 1, 2024 which read as follows:
That the motion be amended by deleting the words “Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, the”, and the words “no fewer than” before the words “three meetings”.
By unanimous consent, Chris Bittle withdrawn the amendment of Vance Badawey.
Chris Bittle moved, — That the debate be now adjourned.
The question was put on the motion and it was negatived on the following recorded division:
YEAS: Chris Bittle, Angelo Iacono, Annie Koutrakis, Joyce Murray, Churence Rogers — 5;
NAYS: Taylor Bachrach, Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Cheryl Gallant, Chris Lewis, Dan Muys, Mark Strahl — 6.
Debate arose thereon.
Chris Bittle moved, — Given that,
The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) spent nearly $900,000 in consulting fees on the Lake Erie Connector project;
That the committee undertake a study of the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s involvement in the Lake Erie Connector project; that the committee hold three meetings to hear from witnesses on the topic; and that the committee invite the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and Infrastructure Canada officials to appear as part of the study.
At 11:08 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:09 a.m., the sitting resumed.
Debate arose thereon.
At 11:19 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:31 a.m., the sitting resumed.
Mark Strahl moved, — That the amendment be amended by adding after the words “and Infrastructure Canada officials” the following: “as well as the Chief Executive Officer and the officials of the Canada Infrastructure Bank”.
At 11:35 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 11:43 a.m., the sitting resumed.
By unanimous consent, after debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Mark Strahl and it was agreed to.
By unanimous consent, the question was put on the amendment of Chris Bittle, as amended, and it was agreed to.
By unanimous consent, the question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to.
The motion, as amended, read as follows:
Given that,
The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) spent nearly $900,000 in consulting fees on the Lake Erie Connector project;
That the committee undertake a study of the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s involvement in the Lake Erie Connector project; that the committee hold three meetings to hear from witnesses on the topic; and that the committee invite the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and Infrastructure Canada officials as well as the Chief Executive Officer and the officials of the Canada Infrastructure Bank to appear as part of the study.
Debate arose thereon.
At 11:47 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:01 p.m., the sitting resumed.
Mark Strahl moved, — That, given that the Port of Montreal, a major hub for stolen vehicles to be shipped out of Canada, only has five Canada Border Service Agents to inspect the 580,000 containers that leave the port each year, according to the Le Journal de Montréal, with one law enforcement agent saying, “Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has no resources to check the containers, they check less than one per cent of containers,”
The committee report to the House its concern with these reports and calls on the government to immediately address these resource shortages, as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) falls under the Federal government’s mandate.
Debate arose thereon.
Taylor Bachrach moved, — That the motion be amended by replacing the words “report to the House” with the word “expresses”.
The question was put on the amendment of Taylor Bachrach and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:
YEAS: Taylor Bachrach, Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Chris Bittle, Angelo Iacono, Annie Koutrakis, Joyce Murray, Churence Rogers — 7;
NAYS: Cheryl Gallant, Chris Lewis, Dan Muys, Mark Strahl — 4.
Debate arose thereon.
At 12:43 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 12:48 p.m., the sitting resumed.
Annie Koutrakis moved, — That the committee do now adjourn.
The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:
YEAS: Taylor Bachrach, Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Chris Bittle, Angelo Iacono, Annie Koutrakis, Joyce Murray, Churence Rogers — 7;
NAYS: Cheryl Gallant, Chris Lewis, Dan Muys, Mark Strahl — 4.
At 1:01 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.