On motion of John Barlow, it was agreed, — That Kody Blois be elected Chair of the committee.

At 3:27 p.m., Kody Blois took the Chair.

On motion of Dave Epp, it was agreed, — That John Barlow be elected First Vice-Chair of the committee.

On motion of Francis Drouin, it was agreed, — That Yves Perron be elected Second Vice-Chair of the committee.

At 3:31 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 115(5), it was agreed that the committee continue to sit.

By unanimous consent, on motion of Francis Drouin, it was agreed, — That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.

That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five members; the Chair and one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration

That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round:

Conservative Party
Liberal Party
Bloc Québécois
New Democratic Party

For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows:

Conservative Party, five minutes
Liberal Party, five minutes
Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes
New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes
Conservative Party, five minutes
Liberal Party, five minutes

That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee provided the documents are in both official languages, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.

That the clerk of the committee, at the discretion of the Chair, be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide working meals for the committee and its subcommittees.

That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnesses not exceeding two representatives per organization; and that in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be made at the discretion of the Chair.

That, unless otherwise ordered, each committee member be allowed to be accompanied by one staff member at in camera meetings and that one additional person from each House officer’s office be allowed to be present.

That one copy of the transcript of each in camera meeting be kept in the committee clerk’s office for consultation by members of the committee or by their staff; and that the analysts assigned to the committee also have access to the in camera transcripts.

That a 48-hour notice, interpreted as two nights, be required for any substantive motion to be moved in committee , unless the substantive motion relates directly to business then under consideration, provided that: (a) the notice be filed with the clerk of the committee no later than 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday; (b) the motion be distributed to Members and the offices of the whips of each recognized party in both official languages by the clerk on the same day the said notice was transmitted if it was received no later than the deadline hour; (c) notices received after the deadline hour or on non-business days be deemed to have been received during the next business day; and that when the committee is holding meetings outside the Parliamentary Precinct, no substantive motion may be moved.

That in relation to orders of reference from the House respecting Bills,

(a) The clerk of the committee shall, upon the committee receiving such an order of reference, write to each member who is not a member of a caucus represented on the committee to invite those members to file with the clerk of the committee, in both official languages, any amendments to the bill, which is the subject of the said Order, which they would suggest that the committee consider;

(b) Suggested amendments filed, pursuant to paragraph (a), at least 48 hours prior to the start of clause-by-clause consideration of the bill to which the amendments relate shall be deemed to be proposed during the said consideration, provided that the committee may, by motion, vary this deadline in respect of a given bill; and

(c) During the clause-by-clause consideration of a bill, the Chair shall allow a member who filed suggested amendments, pursuant to paragraph (a), an opportunity to make brief representations in support of them.

That the clerk inform each witness who is to appear before the committee that the House administration support team must conduct technical tests to check the connectivity and the equipment used to ensure the best possible sound quality; and that the Chair advise the committee, at the start of each meeting, of any witness who did not perform the required technical tests.

That all documents submitted for committee business that do not come from a federal department, members’ offices, or that have not been translated by the Translation Bureau be sent for prior linguistic review by the Translation Bureau before being distributed to members.

John Barlow moved, — That the committee hold a three hour meeting by December 22, 2021, to hear one panel on the extreme flooding and landslides in the province of British Columbia for the first hour with the following witnesses:

- Officials from the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood;

- Officials from the Department of Public Safety;

And one panel on the interim suspension of certification of all potatoes originating from Prince Edward Island to the United States with the following witnesses;

- Officials from the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood;

- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency;

- The Premier of Prince Edward Island;

- The Minister of Agriculture and Land, and the P.E.I. Potato Board.

At 3:57 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 4:17 p.m., the sitting resumed.

The committee resumed consideration of the motion of John Barlow.

Debate arose thereon.

By unanimous consent, the motion was withdrawn.

By unanimous consent, it was agreed, — That the committee invite officials from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the P.E.I. Potato Board and a representative for the Minister of Agriculture and Land of Prince Edward Island or of the Government of Prince Edward Island to brief the committee on the interim suspension of certification of all potatoes originating from Prince Edward Island to the United States, for a two-hour meeting no later than Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021.

On motion of Richard Lehoux, it was agreed, — That the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food during the second session of the 43rd Parliament, intitled “Room to Grow: Strengthening Food Processing Capacity in Canada for Food Security and Exports” be adopted as a report of the committee in the current session of Parliament; and that the Chair be authorized to present the report and that a government response be requested.

It was agreed, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

ORDERED, — That the Chair present the report to the House.

Yves Perron gave notice of the following motions:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food assess the impacts of the first year of implementation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on the agriculture and agri-food sector by hearing from witnesses over a period of no fewer than five meetings and report its findings and recommendations to the House.

That the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food resume its study on the environmental contribution of agriculture that the committee undertook during the 2nd Session of the 43rd Parliament; that the committee continue to hear witnesses as agreed to in the original motion and finalize its report; and that all previously provided testimony and documents be considered by the committee as needed during the current session.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on reciprocity of standards, labelling and traceability of food products entering Canada to determine whether standards and regulations on food products imported and sold in Canada are met and enforced appropriately; that the committee hold at least six meetings on this matter; and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study to determine what actions can be taken by the Government of Canada to ensure stability and increased slaughter capacity, as well as competitiveness in the regions of Quebec and Canada, with a view to increasing food safety and animal welfare and reducing the environmental footprint of transportation; that the committee hold at least four meetings on this matter; that the committee hear witnesses in relation to this matter; and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House.