A Prairie MP becomes chair of the House of Commons agriculture committee for the first time in five years and only the second time in more than two decades.
Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Merv Tweed was elected last week.
Tweed, elected in 2004, replaces Ontario rural MP Larry Miller, who has been chair since 2007.
The last prairie chair was Saskatchewan MP Gerry Ritz in 2006-07 before he was elevated to cabinet and eventually to his current role as agriculture minister.
Meanwhile, an opposition MP said it is time for the committee to get its teeth into some meaty issues.
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For the past year, it has spent many hours on hearings about future farm programs and agricultural value chain issues with little focus or relevance, NDP opposition agriculture critic Malcolm Allen said.
“I’ll be pushing to look at what is happening here in the Growing Forward 2 deal,” he said.
“We have literally been playing with fluff since this Parliament started last year. It is now time to have a hard look at impacts of policy changes and what is happening at CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), that seems to have no direction, and a host of other issues that have real impact on farmers.”
The committee had its organizing meeting Sept. 25 and is expected to begin public meetings shortly after.
Tweed, a Brandon businessperson, has been chair of the Commons transport committee.
