EVIDENCE

Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans NUMBER 001 1st SESSION 45th PARLIAMENT Tuesday, June 17, 2025 Le mardi 17 juin 2025 Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans CANADA [Recorded by Electronic Apparatus] EVIDENCE June 17, 2025 Committee NUMBER 001 NUMBER 001 NUMÉRO 001 01 17 06 2025 2025/06/17 15:30:00 House Of Commons Comité permanent des pêches et des océans Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans FOPO

1 45

(1530) [ Translation ]

The Clerk of the Committee (Maxime Ricard) :

Honourable members of the committee, I see a quorum. Pursuant to Standing Order 106(3)(a), as clerk of the committee, I will preside over the election of the chair and vice-chairs. [ English ] I must inform members that the clerk of the committee can only receive motions for the election of the chair. The clerk cannot receive other types of motions, cannot entertain points of order and cannot participate in debate. [ Translation ] I'll now call the election of the chair. Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the chair must be a member of the government party. [ English ] I am ready to receive motions for the chair. Mr. Morrissey, go ahead.

Robert Morrissey (Egmont, Lib.) :

Mr. Clerk, I would move the nomination of Patrick Weiler to serve as chair of FOPO.

The Clerk :

Thank you. Are there any other motions? I will now put the motion to the committee. It's been moved by Mr. Morrissey that Mr. Weiler be elected as chair of the committee. Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion? (Motion agreed to)

The Clerk : I declare the motion carried and Mr. Weiler duly elected chair of the committee. I invite Mr. Weiler to take the chair.

The Chair (Patrick Weiler (West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, Lib.)) :

First, I just want to say thank you very much to the members of the committee for putting their trust in me to chair this committee. It was a great pleasure to be part of this committee in the last Parliament. I thought we were very effective as a committee. We were able to do some important studies and produce some reports that the government had to respond to. I'm really looking forward to working with everybody on this committee to follow in that legacy and to do some important work with everybody on the committee. Welcome back to Mr. Morrissey and Mr.

Cormier from the last Parliament's committee, and welcome, Mr. Connors and Parliamentary Secretary Klassen. Welcome back, MP Small and MP Arnold—I really enjoyed working with you in the last Parliament—and welcome, MP Gunn and MP d'Entremont. [ Translation ] I'd also like to welcome Alexis Deschênes, a new member. [ English ] Before we continue, I would like to ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table. These measures are in place to help prevent audio and feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters.

You will notice a QR code on the card that links to a short awareness video. I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the members. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking, and I remind you that all comments should be directed through the chair. For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as best we can, and we appreciate your patience and understanding in this regard. With that, if the committee is in agreement, I would like to invite the clerk to proceed with the election of the vice-chairs. Mr.

Clerk, please go ahead.

[ Translation ]

The Clerk :

Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the first vice-chair must be a member of the official opposition. I'm now ready to receive motions for the first vice-chair. Mr. Small, you have the floor.

(1535) [ English ]

Clifford Small (Central Newfoundland, CPC) :

I nominate MP Mel Arnold.

The Clerk :

Are there any further motions? The motion proposed by Mr. Small is that Mr. Arnold be elected as first vice-chair of the committee. Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion? (Motion agreed to)

The Clerk: Thank you. Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the second vice-chair must be a member of an opposition party other than the official opposition. [ Translation ] I'm now ready to receive motions for the second vice-chair.

Serge Cormier (Acadie—Bathurst, Lib.) :

I nominate Mr. Deschênes.

The Clerk :

Thank you. [ English ] Are there any other motions? [ Translation ] It has been moved by Mr. Cormier that Mr. Deschênes be elected second vice-chair of the committee. [ English ] Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt the motion? (Motion agreed to)

The Clerk: Thank you. [ Translation ] I declare the motion carried and Mr. Deschênes duly elected second vice-chair of the committee.

The Chair :

Congratulations, Mr. Deschênes. [ English ] Congratulations to Mr. Arnold as well. With that, as is the usual practice, if the committee is in agreement, we will proceed with the routine motions. You all have received the package of generic motions that the whips have agreed to distribute. Is it the pleasure of the committee to look at these motions separately or to adopt them all at once?

Paul Connors (Avalon, Lib.) :

I suggest that we adopt them all at once.

The Chair :

That's great. Given that they've all been put forward as a group, is it the will of the committee to adopt the routine motions? (Motions agreed to [ See Minutes of Proceedings ])

The Chair: The motions have been adopted. I'd like to invite our analyst, Natacha, to join us here at the front as well. Are there any motions that someone would like to move before we adjourn for the day here? Go ahead, Mr. Arnold.

Mel Arnold (Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, CPC) :

If I could, Mr. Chair, I'd like to move that the committee deem that it has undertaken and completed the study “Challenges to the Sustainability of the Yukon Salmon Stocks” pursuant to Standing Order 108, and that it adopt that report as a report from this committee pursuant to Standing Order 109; that the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to the report; that supplementary or dissenting reports that accompanied the report in the previous session of Parliament be tabled with the main report; and that the chair present the report to the House.

This is a study that we completed in the last Parliament. All members of the committee worked through the whole process. It was submitted, but because of prorogation, there was no government response received. This is simply to resubmit the report in this Parliament so that we can get a government response.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Arnold. We're keeping a speaking list here. Next I will turn the floor over to Mr. Morrissey.

(1540) Robert Morrissey :

Chair, could we just suspend for a moment while we...? We're okay, but could we suspend for a few moments? We can come back to this.

The Chair :

We're going to briefly suspend, as Mr. Morrissey said.

(1540) (1540) The Chair :

Colleagues, I'm going to resume the meeting. When we left off, Mr. Morrissey, you had the floor, so I'm going to turn the floor back over to you.

Robert Morrissey :

Chair, we're okay. We support the motion put forward by Mr. Arnold, or the request by Mr. Arnold.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes (Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, BQ) :

Mr. Chair, could we get my Conservative Party colleagues' motion on the Yukon? I didn't receive it.

The Chair :

Okay. [ English ] Mr. Arnold, do you have the text of the motion that you could share with Monsieur Deschênes?

Mel Arnold :

I think we have it translated. Let me check with staff. It is being sent to the clerk so that it can be provided.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

I don't know if this is the right time to do so, but I'd like to propose an amendment to this motion.

(1545) [ English ]

The Chair :

I want to clarify one thing: We're not in committee business right now, so if you bring forward motions, they will be notices of motion, because you do need to provide notice for them. As soon as I receive the text of the motion, I will send that to you.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

I propose that we move on to committee business and that we vote on my colleagues' motion. Our side is ready.

[ English ]

The Chair :

That's a dilatory motion.

Mel Arnold :

It might be a procedural piece, but do we need to move to committee business and to remain public?

The Chair :

I'm sorry; could you repeat that?

Mel Arnold :

Do we need to make a motion to move to committee business, or was it automatic that we were in committee business?

The Chair :

We would need to actually have a motion for that right now, but first, I believe the motion has been sent. [ Translation ] Mr. Deschênes, Mr. Arnold's motion was sent by email.

[ English ]

Mel Arnold :

If we need to move into committee business to discuss this motion, I so move.

Serge Cormier :

We don't need to move to go into committee business if we all agree. We can just do it like that. We are already in public.

The Chair :

That's okay. [ Translation ] The motion that was sent out was the wrong one. We're going to share the right one with the members. Mr. Cormier.

[ English ]

Serge Cormier :

Maybe we can just suspend while they get the language for Mr. Deschênes and then come back.

The Chair :

Sure. We'll suspend briefly until the proper motion is circulated.

(1545) (1550)

[ Translation ]

The Chair :

I call the meeting back to order. Mr. Cormier, you have the floor.

[ English ]

Serge Cormier :

I was done.

The Chair :

The correct motion has been circulated, so you should have that in your inboxes now. I think the question is whether there is unanimous consent to adopt this motion and thus allow the report to be tabled in the House to get the government's response. Before finishing that, there will need to be some small changes to update that report with the current session number and things like that. Those are the types of minor changes the clerks would have to make. The question here is whether there is unanimous consent to adopt that motion.

(1555) [ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a very simple amendment to this motion. It's to add, “for a maximum of two meetings”.

The Chair :

That's another motion, Mr. Deschênes. The first motion that was emailed was the wrong one, so you were sent another email. The motion in question is simply to table in the House the report that was completed in September or October of last year and to get a government response. I don't think we need any more meetings for that.

Alexis Deschênes :

Yes, then, there is unanimous consent to move this motion.

The Chair :

Thank you very much. The clerk will first have the report updated for the new session, after which I will submit the report to the House. Mr. Deschênes, you have the floor again.

Alexis Deschênes :

I'd like to give notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee resume its study of the scales used by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to set redfish fishing quotas, and that the testimony and documents gathered by the Committee during the 1st session of the 44th Parliament concerning the study be taken into consideration by the Committee during the current session; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study of the process for allocating fishing rights, covering both the example of redfish quotas in 2024 and that of exploratory lobster fishing licences in 2024 and 2025; that the Committee call 11 witnesses and set aside 5 hours to study the process for allocating exploratory lobster fishing licences; and that the Committee then set aside 4 meetings to complete the study and draft the report.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Deschênes. Did you send that motion by email?

Alexis Deschênes :

Yes.

The Chair :

Thank you. [ English ] Is there anybody who would like to speak on this motion that's just been tabled?

[ Translation ]

Serge Cormier :

Can we wait until everyone has received the motion?

[ English ]

The Chair :

We'll suspend very briefly while the motion is circulated.

(1555) (1605) The Chair :

Let's resume. Everybody should have received the notice of motion by email. That notice of motion has been officially shared. With that, I'll go to Mr. Cormier.

[ Translation ]

Serge Cormier :

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If it's a notice of motion, we agree with our Bloc colleague's motion.

[ English ]

The Chair :

Mr. Arnold is next.

Mel Arnold :

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe there are a couple of amendments required for this. I'll try to make them as one.

The Chair :

Mr. Arnold, I'm afraid that this is just the notice of motion right now.

Mel Arnold :

Are we not discussing the motion?

The Chair :

No. Right now, this is just the notice being given for the motions.

Mel Arnold :

Okay.

The Chair :

Is there anybody else who might want to move a motion here?

Robert Morrissey :

Yes, Chair. Thank you. Have we concluded with the two? Mr. Chair, like Mr. Arnold, I would like to move this motion. It is that:

The committee recognizes that (

i) abandoned and derelict vessels are a scourge on our coastlines, (ii) Canadians on all coasts are looking for a solution to the issues caused by abandoned vessels, (iii) the committee had completed a study on derelict and abandoned vessels and was in the drafting stage on a report on derelict and abandoned vessels in Canada during the 44th Parliament; and

that the evidence and documentation received by the committee during the first session of the 44th Parliament on the subject be taken into consideration by the committee in the current session;

that the committee agree to bring forward the draft report and instructions to committee staff on derelict and abandoned vessels it had begun in the 44th Parliament so that the committee can complete the vital work on this matter;

that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to its report.

Mr. Chair, this would allow the analysts to conclude the work that was begun in the last Parliament, based on the testimony and the evidence given, and to prepare a draft report that will be reviewed by the committee during the fall session.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Morrissey. I believe this is going to be circulated momentarily so that members of the committee have it as well.

Robert Morrissey :

Chair, it's circulated using the verbiage I articulated.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Morrissey. We're going to briefly suspend until members have that in their inboxes.

(1605) (1610) The Chair :

We're going to resume. All members should have received the motion by email. Because we're not in committee business, in order for this to pass, we would need unanimous consent. As Mr. Morrissey mentioned, this would just allow the analysts to produce a report over the course of the summer based on testimony that was received in the last Parliament. If it does pass, there would be an opportunity for members to provide any comment or direction over the course of the summer to the clerk as well. Go ahead, Mr. Morrissey.

Robert Morrissey :

Obviously, Chair, everybody then would have input into the consideration of the report before it's adopted and returned to the House.

The Chair :

That's correct.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

Mr. Chair, I want to make sure I understand correctly: Is the idea to continue a study that has already been started, or is it just to draft a report based on the meetings that have already taken place?

The Chair :

The committee did the study last year. It has heard from all the witnesses and has completed its study, but the analysts haven't finished the report. This motion will enable the analysts to finish drafting the report. It's not about holding new meetings with witnesses. [ English ] Is there consent in the committee to adopt the motion? (Motion agreed to)

The Chair: Okay. Next is Mr. Arnold.

Mel Arnold :

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to move another motion: Given that the 45th Parliament has begun and Canadian fisheries are at a crucial moment, pursuant to Standing Order 108, I move that the committee invite the Minister of Fisheries to testify before the committee for no less than two hours, and her department officials for one hour, no later than September 26, 2025.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Arnold. I understand that you're giving notice for that particular motion. Once we come to the appropriate time, that's something we can look at in our next meeting.

Mel Arnold :

No. This is a motion. We're in committee business, so I can move a motion.

The Chair :

No, Mr. Arnold. We're actually not in committee business at this time.

Mel Arnold :

Then I move that we move to committee business, Mr. Chair.

The Chair :

Okay. I think that's a dilatory motion. Does the committee agree to go into committee business? Go ahead, Mr. Morrissey.

(1615) Robert Morrissey :

Chair, again, we would request a suspension for a moment to consider Mr. Arnold's request.

The Chair :

We'll briefly suspend.

(1615) (1615) The Chair :

We're going to resume. A motion has been moved to go into committee business, so I think we need to just have a show of hands. Do we have agreement to— Go ahead, Mr. Cormier.

Serge Cormier :

Before that, if Mr. Arnold agrees, I think we can just accept it by unanimous consent instead of going into committee business. If he agrees to that, we can just approve this by unanimous consent. We're okay with that.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

What is the unanimous consent for, exactly? Is it for that motion or to move into committee business?

The Chair :

Unanimous consent is being sought in relation to Mr. Arnold's motion.

Alexis Deschênes :

I propose going into committee business, as was moved, to debate my motion, for which the opposition is proposing amendments, as well as that of my colleague and those of the party in power. Either we decide to give notice of those motions or we talk about them later. We shouldn't set one aside to deal with another.

(1620) Serge Cormier :

Mr. Chair, I'd like to clarify something for Mr. Deschênes. Our colleague Mr. Arnold moved a motion to invite the minister and the officials. Then, he proposed that we move into committee business so that we can approve the motion through a vote. What we are now proposing is to adopt the motion through unanimous consent, since we agree on the proposal.

Alexis Deschênes :

What I understand is that my motion will simply be put on notice while the others will have already been debated. I'm worried about it getting to be a little too late in the process. If we're adopting substantive motions, let's do so for all the motions that have been proposed. If not, let's give notice of all the motions, and we'll come back to determine the order.

The Chair :

Thank you, Mr. Deschênes. Mr. Cormier, you have the floor.

Serge Cormier :

Mr. Chair, I'd like to clarify something for Mr. Deschênes. Each member chooses to table a motion or simply give notice, so it was up to Mr. Deschênes to clarify whether he was giving notice of his motion or proposing it. Mr. Deschênes' intervention was considered a notice of motion, but Mr. Arnold proceeded differently. That may not be the case, but that's my understanding. Mr. Arnold's motion was different from Mr. Deschênes'. Mr. Deschênes gave notice of his motion,

whereas Mr. Arnold moved his.

[ English ]

The Chair :

Just to clarify, the one that was passed unanimously was not a notice of motion. The other ones were notices of motion.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

In that case, I don't give my consent to adopt this motion.

[ English ]

The Chair :

With that, there's a motion to go into committee business. That was put forward by Mr. Arnold. Do we have agreement around the table to go into committee business?

Some hon. members: Agreed.

The Chair: Okay. We'll go into committee business. I have Mr. Morrissey and then Mr. Arnold.

Robert Morrissey :

Chair, am I correct that we are now in committee business?

The Chair :

Yes, that's correct.

Robert Morrissey :

Then, Chair, I wish to move the following motion, which has been circulated. It's the return of the Fisheries Act to the committee. I believe the clerk has the notice, Mr. Clerk, given that we're now in committee business. Again, Clerk, this is a study that we began in the last Parliament. This would be moving for the committee to adopt the resumption of the study.

(1625) The Chair :

Mr. Morrissey, you've moved this motion. Members should have this in their email, and of course we have a hard copy that's being circulated. I don't know if you want to say anything else to it at this time.

Robert Morrissey :

No. It speaks for itself, Mr. Chair. If the committee adopts it, it's moving the study of Fisheries Act back to the committee for continuing consideration.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Morrissey. With that, we can open it up for debate if any members would like to say anything to this motion. Go ahead, Mr. Small.

Clifford Small :

Thank you, Chair. I'm wondering what Mr. Morrissey's thoughts are on the witnesses. Will we be opening up new invitations to new witnesses or going back to the original witness list?

Robert Morrissey :

Mr. Chair, as usual, that would be entirely up to the direction of the committee. When it is considering this, the committee can go in any direction it chooses with a majority decision at any time. If it's the wish of the committee to add more witnesses, that would be considered. It is the Fisheries Act, as I stated. We had significant witness appearances on it, but it would be up to the majority of the committee when the bill comes back from the House, Mr. Chair.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Morrissey. Is there anybody else who would like to weigh in on the debate? Go ahead, Mr. Klassen.

Ernie Klassen (South Surrey—White Rock, Lib.) :

This is just for clarification, since there are some new members here and we weren't part of hearing any of the witnesses speaking. I'm not sure how that impacts how we would be voting, for example, as we do not have all of the history in front of us at this point. Could we get some clarification on that?

The Chair :

Sure. I can mention that in the fall, we probably had four meetings on that. We had a number of meetings in the fall as a prestudy for the review of the Fisheries Act. A number of witnesses from across the country appeared as part of that. We didn't finish that study. I forget how many meetings we still had to go. This would be a continuation of what was started in the fall, although because it's a new session after prorogation, we would have to start from the beginning. Go ahead, Mr. Morrissey.

Robert Morrissey :

Chair, the committee could simply adopt by unanimity bringing forward the testimony and the witnesses who were already on the record. Am I correct? I am, yes. Then again, to go back to Mr. Small's question, as in any study, the committee can always choose to amend the witness list and extend it, or not, at the will of the committee majority at any time.

The Chair :

Thank you, Mr. Morrissey. Unless there's anybody else who would like to say anything about this, we can move to a vote. (Motion agreed to [ See Minutes of Proceedings ])

The Chair: Go ahead, Mr. Arnold.

Mel Arnold :

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to clarify my motion to have the minister appear. Do I need to move that again, now that we're in committee business, or was it deemed adopted?

(1630) The Chair :

You don't need to table it again. You've already given notice, so you can move it now.

Mel Arnold :

Okay. I will move that motion now, as we're in committee business. Given that the 45th session of Parliament has begun and that Canadian fisheries are at a crucial moment, I move as follows: “That, pursuant to Standing Order 108, the committee invite the Minister of Fisheries to testify before the committee for no less than two hours, and her department officials for one hour, no later than September 26, 2025.”

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Arnold. We had a very brief discussion before, but is there anybody else who would like to weigh in on this motion? Go ahead, Mr. Klassen.

Ernie Klassen :

I would like to see the date removed from that and have the minister come for one hour, which I think would be more than appropriate and more than the norm, and have the staff come for two hours.

The Chair :

Mr. Klassen, are you moving an amendment to the motion?

Ernie Klassen :

Yes, I am.

The Chair :

With that, we'll open this up to debate. Mr. Arnold, go ahead.

Mel Arnold :

Thank you. I'm going to oppose that amendment. It is an invitation for the minister to appear, and we've always asked for two hours, if she's available, and for one hour for the department. It's very important, and I think it's extremely important now, when we see potential significant changes in the department. I believe we've all seen the messages out there that the Canadian Coast Guard will possibly be moved to a different department of government and no longer be under fisheries, and we see that in the title of the fisheries minister , with it no longer being “Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard”.

I think that we, as a committee, deserve to understand what the new mandate of the minister will be, how the work of the department is going to proceed and what the priorities are going to be, and I don't think that can be covered off in one meeting. That's a very short round of questions for the many members of this committee. I'll oppose the amendment.

The Chair :

Thank you very much, Mr. Arnold. Is there any other debate on the amendment? I have Mr. Morrissey.

Robert Morrissey :

Just so we're clear, we're going to vote on the amendment to Mr. Arnold's motion. Clarify the amendment again for me.

The Chair :

Mr. Klassen moved that the minister would appear for one hour rather than two hours and that the date would be removed. Go ahead, Mr. Cormier.

Serge Cormier :

I don't want to go above my colleague, but I'm thinking about the time of two hours. It is an invitation, Mr. Arnold, but can we at least remove the date? It's an invitation. I'm pretty sure the minister will come to this committee. It's just the date. Why not just remove the date and leave it as it is?

The Chair :

I have Mr. Arnold.

Mel Arnold :

Are you proposing a subamendment to the amendment? That's what it would be doing.

Serge Cormier :

It's a subamendment.

The Chair :

Monsieur d'Entremont is next.

Chris d'Entremont (Acadie—Annapolis, CPC) :

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'm sure that in three months' time, the minister will be more than prepared to come and meet with us for two hours to answer our questions, and I think that putting some kind of deadline on that is important. We want to see her as early as possible, because she will help us form our discussions as we go forward. I think that what Mr. Arnold has proposed is more than acceptable and is more than enough of a heads-up for the minister to be prepared.

The Chair :

Thank you, Mr. d'Entremont. Next I have Mr. Klassen and then Mr. Arnold.

Ernie Klassen :

I was just going to ask whether it is possible to remove my amendment and substitute Mr. Cormier's amendment for my amendment.

The Chair :

I believe that in order to do that, you would need the unanimous consent of the committee. Is there unanimous consent for Mr. Klassen to remove his amendment?

Some hon. members: Agreed. (Amendment withdrawn)

(1635) Serge Cormier :

Mr. Chair, I'll remove my amendment also, so that we'll just go with the actual motion. Do we have unanimous consent for that?

Some hon. members: Agreed. (Amendment withdrawn)

The Chair :

I believe I had Mr. Arnold next, and then—

Mel Arnold :

It's a subamendment to the amendment, so I will cede for now.

The Chair :

Okay. [ Translation ] Mr. Deschênes, you have the floor.

Alexis Deschênes :

I'd like us to debate the motion for which I gave notice.

The Chair :

We have to finish debate on the main motion first.

Alexis Deschênes :

I thought we had passed that motion. I apologize.

[ English ]

The Chair :

With that, if there's no more debate on the motion, we can move to a vote. Does everybody consent to Mel's motion? (Motion agreed to [ See Minutes of Proceedings ])

The Chair: That's agreed. Okay. Next I have Mr. Cormier, and then Monsieur Deschênes after that.

[ Translation ]

Serge Cormier :

Mr. Chair, I'd also like to move a motion in connection with a study I proposed in the last Parliament. Regarding the study on the next generation, I move the following:

That pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a five meeting study on the need for training and financial support for the next generation of fishers given the challenges they face entering into the field given the high cost of licences and equipment and that the committee issue a report upon the completion of its work; that witnesses include young fish harvesters and aspiring young fish harvesters; that witnesses include representatives from the fish harvesting industry and fish harvester unions; that witnesses come from a wide variety of regional and linguistic backgrounds, including indigenous representation; furthermore, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee asks that the government provide a comprehensive response to its report.

The text should have been sent to the committee members just now.

Alexis Deschênes :

Mr. Chair, I'd like to have a brief moment to read my colleague's motion.

The Chair :

Yes, of course. Mr. Cormier, can you email the text of the motion?

Serge Cormier :

It's done.

The Chair :

Okay. I'm going to suspend the meeting for a few minutes.

(1635) (1640) The Chair :

I call the meeting back to order. [ English ] Mr. Cormier moved the motion. It should have been circulated. Everybody should have that in their email, in addition to the paper copy that we have here. We can open it up for debate. Does anybody want to speak to the motion on the floor? No one does. Let's go to a vote, then. (Motion agreed to)

The Chair: Next is Monsieur Deschênes.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

I want the committee to debate my motion. If I understand correctly, my colleague from the official opposition wanted to propose an amendment.

(1645) The Chair :

Okay. We're back to Mr. Deschênes' motion, which he put on notice a little earlier. Does anyone want to move an amendment? [ English ] Go ahead, Mr. Arnold.

Mel Arnold :

Thank you. I've spoken to MP Deschênes about this. The last line in the motion that was circulated says that the committee would set aside four meetings. I'd like to amend that to say that the committee set aside the required time to complete the study, so that we don't have to specify four meetings for that. I'd also add that the chair present the report to the House, or the usual language that's in a motion.

The Chair :

Thank you, Mr. Arnold. Go ahead, Mr. Cormier.

[ Translation ]

Serge Cormier :

If I understand correctly, we're talking about the motion that Mr. Deschênes gave notice of earlier and that he has now proposed. If that's the case, I'd like to propose a small amendment that echoes what Mr. Arnold mentioned earlier. I'll read it and circulate it as well. It would just add after the last paragraph, “; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request the government to table a comprehensive response to its report.”

[ English ]

The Chair :

Thank you, Mr. Cormier. We have amendments, on top of which we have subamendments. Is there any debate on the subamendments? Go ahead, Monsieur Deschênes.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

I support the proposed amendments.

[ English ]

The Chair :

Is there debate on the subamendments? All those in favour? (Subamendments agreed to [ See Minutes of Proceedings ])

The Chair: We're now dealing with the amendment from Mr. Arnold. Would anyone else like to weigh in on the changes proposed by Mr. Arnold? All those in favour of those changes? (Amendment as amended agreed to [ See Minutes of Proceedings ])

The Chair: Finally, we have the motion as amended. Does anyone else want to comment on that? All those in favour? (Motion as amended agreed to [ See Minutes of Proceedings ])

The Chair: I think that's all we have to deal with in committee business. Is it the will of the committee to adjourn?

Some hon. members: Agreed.

[ Translation ]

Alexis Deschênes :

Mr. Chair, I'd just like to ask a question before we adjourn: When are we going to decide the order in which the motions will be debated? Has that already been set out in the agenda for the next meeting? Will it be done before the summer or only in September? How do you see it happening?

The Chair :

That's a good question, Mr. Deschênes. Our next meeting may not be until September, so I don't think now is the right time to plan our meetings. Still, the first thing we'll have to do when we come back in the fall will be to discuss this and plan our work. We'll have a report on abandoned vessels, and we'll have to determine the studies we're going to conduct. That should give us a lot to do during the first meetings, but we'll figure that out in the fall. [ English ] With that, the meeting is adjourned.