There’s been a shakeup on the House of Commons’ agriculture committee benches, with a new parliamentary secretary and the transfer of Conservative heavy-hitter Randy Hoback to the trade committee.
A mini-cabinet shuffle in January saw prime minister Stephen Harper move Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux from his post as parliamentary secretary for agriculture to parliamentary secretary for veterans affairs. Lemieux had served as parliamentary secretary for agriculture since 2008.
Gerald Keddy, a former Christmas tree producer from Nova Scotia, now takes over from Lemieux and will sit on the committee. An MP since 1997, Keddy has said he will not seek re-election in 2015.
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Keddy is known in Ottawa for his kind demeanour and has held several prominent positions within the Conservative party in his 16 years as an MP.
The boisterous MP has previously served as party whip and the parliamentary secretary for international trade and the Atlantic Gateway.
Along with his new-found agricultural duties, Keddy remains parliamentary secretary to the minister of national revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
However, the new parliamentary secretary isn’t the only change in the agriculture committee membership worth mentioning.
Saskatchewan MP Randy Hoback, who gained a lot of respect last winter for his blunt questioning of Canada’s two major railways during the heart of the grain logistics crisis, is off the agriculture committee.
His departure comes after he was named chair of the international trade committee last fall. Sources say he was told by higher ranking party officials that like other committee chairs, he could no longer sit as a permanent member of another committee. He will be replaced by Ottawa newcomer Larry McGuire, who is well known within the agricultural community.
However, Hoback’s exit from the agriculture committee is a loss to the Conservatives’ bench.
Unlike other committees, where politics often get in the way of productivity, the agriculture committee has developed a reputation for at least attempting to get things done, while avoiding the negative tone and insult lobbing that has overtaken many other committees.
The slightly more bipartisan tone of the agriculture committee and the committee’s ability to get along have been quietly attributed to people like Hoback.
Other members of the committee would often draw on his extensive knowledge of agriculture and years of farming experience. Also appreciated is his ability to explain complicated agricultural issues in plain English.
His importance to the committee was especially highlighted last winter, at the height of the grain backlog, when Hoback and fellow farmer Earl Dreeshen became the Conservative’s go-to folks on the file.
Hoback is expected to fill in for his fellow members when they are unable to make committee meetings.
However, McGuire is no stranger to agriculture and its politics. He is a long-time farmer, and like Hoback is a former president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. He has also been an executive member of the Canada Grains Council and member of Keystone Agriculture Producers.
During his time in provincial politics, McGuire served in a variety of portfolios, including infrastructure and transport.
His background in that file will likely be drawn upon this winter and spring as rail transport lingers in Ottawa’s political conversation.
While the agriculture committee has not yet resumed its meetings, it will likely spend time considering proposed changes to the Canada Grain Commission. Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced the changes in December.
McGuire and Keddy join fellow Conservative committee members LaVar Payne, Bob Zimmer and Earl Dreeshen as well as chair Bev Shipley.
No changes have occurred on opposition benches, where NDP MP Malcolm Allen remains the party’s agriculture critic, with Ruth Ellen Brosseau as his deputy. The NDP’s third committee member is Quebec MP Francine Raynault. As for the Liberals, Nova Scotia MP Mark Eyking continues to sit as the party’s critic.
