I apologize. It's a reminder. Please do not have your phones on vibrate near the earpiece when you're speaking, because it will, obviously, hurt the interpreters.

Again, welcome to meeting number 94 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on June 13, the committee is continuing its study on intergenerational volunteerism.

Today’s meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. Witnesses are appearing virtually, online, as well as here in the room.

You have the option to speak in the official language of your choice. In the room, interpretation is available through your earpiece. If you are appearing virtually, click on the globe icon at the bottom of your screen and choose the language of your choice.

If there's an interruption in interpretation, please get my attention. We'll suspend while it's being corrected. I would like to again remind members to please keep their telephones and earpieces away from the mic to protect the hearing of our interpreters.

I remind all members to address their comments through the chair. Use the “raise hand” function if you're online. If you're in the room, raise your hand.

Before we go to witnesses, I wish to confirm with members a deadline to provide the clerk their list of witnesses for the study on Bill C-319, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act. Is there agreement that the deadline to submit witnesses be on Wednesday, December 13? We will resume the study in the new year.

Seeing no disagreement, we'll set that deadline.

One of our witnesses is in the room, and the other is appearing virtually. From Le Petit Peuple, we have Jeanne Campeau, executive director, by video conference. Welcome. From Volunteer Ottawa, we have Christine Trauttmansdorff, executive director—

5:40 p.m.

Conservative

Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC

Mr. Chair, just before we begin with the witnesses, I wonder if I can bring up a very quick housekeeping item. May I?

This committee has requested documents that haven't been sent to it yet. I'm sure all committee members will agree that's not acceptable. We should follow up with that organization to get the documents.

Specifically, this was from the CMHC, going back to February, when documents were requested specifically on board meeting minutes. They wrote to the committee in April—I believe around April 17—and it was brought up again when the CEO was here recently, but we still haven't received the documents.

I'm just wondering if we can get consensus for the committee to write to CMHC to get the documents sent here that haven't been sent, by Monday at nine o'clock. They've had 10 months. That way, we can have the documents before we rise for this session.

I'm hoping we can have quick consensus on that.

5:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Thank you, Mrs. Gray.

5:40 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

I agree with MP Gray, for sure, but I just want to be clear. I'm trying to think back to then. Did they say for sure that they would submit them, or that they would check? Was it cut and dry?

5:40 p.m.

Conservative

Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC

If I may, Mr. Chair, they wrote to the committee on April 17, because there were other committee members who had requested other documents from CMHC, and they forwarded some of them. In that written correspondence to the committee on April 17, they said those documents would be coming, but we still haven't received them.

5:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Mr. Fragiskatos.

5:40 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON

I don't doubt what our colleague has said, but just so we're on the same page, I wonder if we could have the blues brought up from the meeting when that commitment was made, or the wording, so we know exactly what CMHC committed to before agreeing to what Mrs. Gray has put forward. I think that's reasonable for us to take a look at.

5:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

I don't have the blues with me, but if that's what you're requesting, we don't have consensus to proceed as Mrs. Gray outlined.

Mr. Fragiskatos.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON

In the spirit of goodwill, this is a meeting that's going to be lengthy, so if Mrs. Gray is able to pull that up, she can raise it again. I'm not saying that we won't agree; I just want to see exactly what was committed to.

I leave it to the member who is raising the matter to take that up.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Could we then—

5:45 p.m.

Conservative

Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC

Mr. Chair, can I respond?

The clerk should be able to provide this, because they had written to the committee on April 17 saying that those documents were forthcoming, and we actually have written documentation from CMHC that would have come to the committee when they brought forth other documents. We actually have it in writing from them, and I'm sure the clerk can pull that up.

Perhaps, to move this along, we can agree that if that's what CMHC said in the written documentation, we therefore can move forward with that. Maybe we can agree to that without having a lengthy process here.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Mr. Fragiskatos.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON

Very quickly, could the clerk send that? He has it at his disposal, I understand.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

No, he doesn't have it at his disposal. We'll attempt to get the document.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON

I think we can deal with it in this meeting.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Yes. We will deal with it in this meeting.

Mr. Coteau is next.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON

Why don't we agree to action whatever we agreed to? If we agreed to it, we agreed to it.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

I have Ms. Zarrillo.

5:45 p.m.

NDP

Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

If that's going, can we also get the information about CMHC contacts? What came back to me was contacts from Infrastructure Canada. What was asked for was contacts from CMHC.

Also, Mr. Chair, if you wouldn't mind clarifying, we have only about an hour, and I want to make sure that we get at least one round of discussion in equitably and fairly. If you could clarify how we're going to proceed today, that would be awesome.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

I want to advise the committee that we do have resources to go beyond seven o'clock.

If the committee wishes, we can proceed till 7:30.

Ms. Zarrillo.

5:45 p.m.

NDP

Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC

Mr. Chair, I'm not going to have staff resources past 6:30, so to go all the way to seven o'clock is too much. Also, there are debates in the House tonight.

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

We will deal with that at the appropriate time.

I want to begin.

We have a commitment, before the meeting adjourns, to revisit the question Mrs. Gray put before us. We'll attempt to get the information.

With that, I would ask for the opening statement from Ms. Campeau.

Ms. Campeau, you have five minutes, please.