Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Fisheries and Oceans
Issue No. 22 - Evidence - November 23, 2017
OTTAWA, Thursday, November 23, 2017
The Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans met this day at 8:05 a.m., for the purpose of organization, pursuant to rule 12-13 of the Rules of the Senate.
[Translation]
Barbara Reynolds, Clerk of the Committee: Honourable Senators, I see we have a quorum. Pursuant to the order of the Senate adopted on November 7, 2017, there is a vacancy in the chair.
[English]
As clerk of your committee, it is therefore my duty to preside over the election of the chair. I am ready to receive a motion to that effect.
Senator Gold: Good morning, colleagues. I move that the Honourable Senator Fabian Manning do take the chair of this committee.
Ms. Reynolds: Are there any other nominations?
It is moved by the Honourable Senator Gold that the Honourable Senator Manning do take the chair.
Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
Ms. Reynolds: I declare the motion carried, and I invite the Honourable Senator Manning to take the chair.
Senator Fabian Manning (Chair) in the chair.
The Chair: Thank you, colleagues, for your confidence. I hope I live up to your expectations. It has been a pleasure of mine for a number of years to be in this position, and I look forward to continuing, especially with the new people that have joined us. I will talk about that in a few moments.
Before I move on to other business, Senator Tobias Enverga spent many years as a great member of our committee. There are some wonderful memories not only from around the table but of the travelling that we did over the years. I would like to take a moment of silence in memory of him on behalf of the members of our committee.
The Chair: Thank you, colleagues.
I would also like to take the opportunity to welcome a new clerk of our committee, Ms. Barbara Reynolds, who may be familiar to some of you around the table. She comes with years of experience, and I certainly look forward to working with Barbara for the next while as a shoulder for members of our committee. Welcome, Barbara.
Ms. Reynolds: Thank you.
The Chair: My next order of business is to open the floor for nominations for deputy chair.
Honourable senators, pursuant to the motion adopted by the Senate on November 7, 2017, I am ready to receive nominations for deputy chair. Are there any nominations?
Senator McInnis: Yes. I nominate Senator Marc Gold to be deputy chair.
The Chair: It is moved by the Honourable Senator Thomas J. McInnis that the Honourable Senator Marc Gold be deputy chair of this committee.
Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: I declare the motion carried. Welcome, Senator Gold.
I will ask for the following motion that the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the chair, the deputy chair and one other member of the committee to be designated after the usual consultations, and that the subcommittee be empowered to make decisions on behalf of the committee with respect to its agenda, to invite witnesses and to schedule hearings.
Would someone like to move that motion?
Senator Gold: So moved.
Senator Ringuette: May I make a consulting comment?
The Chair: Yes, you are welcome to make a consulting comment.
Senator Ringuette: I believe it would be appropriate that the additional member for the steering committee be from the independent Liberals so that the three caucuses are represented.
Senator Plett: If I could, that agreement has been made in principle already. I think it is understood that would be the case.
The Chair: Yes. In my preliminary discussions with Senator Gold, that is pretty well the same way we were working on it, too. As a matter of fact, we will not deal with it today as we need to consult further. If for some reason or another someone is not around and we need to have a meeting, Senator Gold and I would like to have a four-member steering committee for the simple reason that we need three members for a quorum.
In the past, for our new members, I am sure Senator Gold and I as chair have certainly talked about this. We don’t make a whole lot of final decisions at steering. We usually talk to each other about some ideas and make suggestions. It has been my practice, as chair, to take it to the full committee 99 per cent of the time to discuss any ideas, suggestions, travel plans, witnesses, et cetera. I don’t feel comfortable in making a hardcore decision among a couple of people. I would rather consult with the whole committee. That has been my practice in the past. I spoke to Senator Gold about that yesterday, and he agrees with that process. I don’t see a change in that. It would be nice to have a fourth member in case someone is not available. We will discuss that with our leadership. We need to have a meeting as a backup plan.
Are there any other comments on that? Could I have someone make that motion?
Senator Munson: I so move.
The Chair: All those in favour?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Contra-minded? Motion carried.
We will move in camera to talk about some committee business.
(The committee continued in camera.)