Human Resources Committee on Dec. 13th, 2021

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Danielle Widmer]

Honourable members of the committee, I see a quorum.

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 motion, entertain points of order or participate in debate.

We can now proceed to the election of the chair. Pursuant to Standing Order 106(2), the chair must be a member of the government party.

I am ready to receive motions for the chair.

Go ahead, Mr. Long.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Thank you.

Good morning to everybody here. It's wonderful to be back on HUMA.

I would like to move that my colleague, Bobby Morrissey, stand as the chair of HUMA.

[The Clerk]

It has been moved by Mr. Long that Mr. Morrissey be elected as chair of the committee.

Are there any further motions?

(Motion agreed to)

Mr. Morrissey has been duly elected the chair of the committee. Congratulations.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Clerk]

I invite Mr. Morrissey to take the chair.

[The Chair (Mr. Robert Morrissey (Egmont, Lib.)), Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, committee members.

For somebody who loves elections, this was a bit different.

Before we move to the nomination of the vice-chairs, can we go around the table? I'll ask each of the members to introduce themselves to the committee, because there are a number who are new.

We'll start with Ms. Kusie.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Good morning, everyone. I'm Stephanie Kusie. I'm the member of Parliament for Calgary Midnapore.

I've been an elected member for five years this spring, and I'm returning to HUMA for the second time. It's a pleasure to be here, and I look forward to working with everyone.

Thank you.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Good morning, everybody. I'm Matt Jeneroux, the member of Parliament for Edmonton Riverbend.

I've only ever made a guest appearance at HUMA. I've never been on the committee, but I'm looking forward to joining the committee this year.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

I'm Alex Ruff, the MP for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.

I was elected in 2019. I spent 25-plus years in the military. This is my first time at HUMA.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Good morning. I'm Monique Pauzé. I'm a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. Today I'm replacing Louise Chabot, who couldn't be here.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Hello. I'm Bonita Zarrillo. I am a first-time elected member out of B.C., from Port Moody—Coquitlam.

I spent almost nine years as a city councillor. For the majority of that, I sat on the accessibility committee in my city.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Good morning. My name is Soraya Martinez Ferrada. I'm the member of Parliament for Hochelaga in Montreal. I was elected for the first time in 2019.

I feel new but not new.

However, I'm new to this committee and I'm very happy to be here.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

My name is Tony Van Bynen. I'm the member of Parliament for Newmarket—Aurora.

I was elected in 2019, so I see this as the second half of the first term of office.

[Chad Collins, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

I'm Chad Collins from Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. I'm a newly elected member.

I was a long-time member of Hamilton city council, and I'm looking forward to working with everyone here on the committee.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

I'm Michael Coteau. I represent Don Valley East.

I'm newly elected, and I spent 10 years in the Ontario legislature.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Good morning. My name is Wayne Long. I'm from the riding of Saint John—Rothesay in New Brunswick.

This is my third time on HUMA. I'm thrilled to be back. I can say first-hand that the work that HUMA does is so important to the lives of so many Canadians. It's a great committee to be on.

I'm looking forward to working with all of my colleagues for the betterment of all of our constituents.

[Bob Benzen, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

I'm Bob Benzen from Calgary Heritage. It's my first time on the committee. I look forward to having my next meeting in Ottawa and being with all of you. I think this will be a great committee, too, so I'm glad to be on board.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, committee members—

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Chair. However, I would like to point out that, when Mr. Benzen introduced himself, we couldn't hear the interpretation. It doesn't matter for the introductions, but for the next time he wants to speak, it's important to make sure that the interpretation works.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

On a point of order, there's no translation.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

When Mr. Benzen, who is participating through Zoom, spoke, the interpreter couldn't hear him.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

One moment, please, Ms. Pauzé.

[Bob Benzen, Conservative, Calgary Heritage, AB]

Mr. Chair, I'll take my mask off quickly. Hopefully this is a little bit better for sound.

Again, Calgary Heritage is my riding. I was elected in 2017 in a by-election. It's my first time on the committee. I look forward to being in Ottawa for the next meeting. Hopefully there will be no problem with translation.

I'm sorry about that.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Chair, I must speak up again. The interpreter is telling us that the sound keeps cutting out when Mr. Benzen is talking to the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Okay. We'll proceed to the election of the vice-chairs for the committee, if the committee is in agreement.

I invite the clerk to preside over the election of the vice-chairs.