Ontario MP Michael Coteau will chair the next House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Coteau represents the Ontario riding of Scarborough-Woburn in eastern Toronto.
Coteau previously served as a Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario, including serving in portfolios like Minister of Children and Youth Services, Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Previously, Coteau worked as a school bord trustee where he advocated for student nutrition.
He also has professional background in education, media and marketing, his LinkedIn profile shows.
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The committee’s Vice-Chairs will be John Barlow and Yves Perron, both of whom are returning to the role, which they held during the last session of Parliament.
The committee includes five Liberals, including Coteau, Sophie Chatel, Paul Connors, Emma Harrison Hill and Marianne Dandurand; four Conservatives, including Barlow, Richard Bragdon, David Epp and Jacques Gourde. Perron represents the Bloc Quebecois.
Epp, Gourde, Hill and Perron have agricultural or farming backgrounds while Dandurand was chief of staff to former ag minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Barlow has served several terms as shadow minister for agriculture and agri-food.
