Status of Women Committee on May 29th, 2007

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

The meeting will start off in public. We will go through Ms. Neville's motion, and I understand that Ms. Smith has an amendment to the motion. After that, I need to do some committee business in public.

What I am going to request of committee members is that as we go through the motion and amendments, could we restrict the debate for each portion to 20 minutes? That will give us time to go in camera to discuss the issue we want to discuss.

There are votes tonight, so the bells might ring at 5:15 p.m., and we will have to stop at that time.

Could I have the unanimous consent of committee members that we will restrict the debate on the motion and the amendment to 20 minutes each?

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

I have to be away by 4 p.m., Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

That's going to make it a little difficult. Okay, we'll see.

Ms. Neville, could you please read the motion for the record?

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Madam Chair, I wonder if I could have the permission of the committee to take six words out of the motion. This might alleviate the issue of an amendment. I don't know.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Could you tell us which six words you would like to remove?

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

If possible, the six words that I'd like to withdraw are “during the duration of the games”.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Procedurally you can't make amendments to your own motion. You have to read the full motion, and then we will do what is procedurally right.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Okay. It reads:

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women recommends to the government that a plan be developed and implemented prior to the opening of the 2010 Olympics to curtail the trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes during the duration of the games and that the Chair report the adoption of this motion to the House without delay.

Can I speak to it? Briefly, the reason I suggested withdrawing those six words, Madam Chair, is that it should happen not only during the duration of the games, but it should be an ongoing process. I'll leave that up to the committee.

We've heard testimony over time from the Vancouver police department and from others who came before the committee. I have the testimony before me indicating that Vancouver is both a sex city...that the rate and intensity of the trafficking of women, men, and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation during large international games increases substantially.

It's important that we be alert, so that we draw attention to this and have a strategy in place.

I'll comment later.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Does anyone else wish to speak to the motion?

Ms. Smith.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's not time to talk about the amendment right now. I understand it's speaking to the motion that's already on the table.

I want to commend the member for putting this motion forward. I think it's a very good one, and our witnesses certainly impacted this committee.

I was on this committee during the past election and this one. In 1999, it was very hard to get this on the status of women committee. The member opposite, Ms. Neville, who put this motion forward, has certainly seen the importance of protecting people, particularly in the Olympic games.

I would agree that this needs to be done right now and all the time, but I also commend her for paying attention to that special point that the Olympic games do bring in more trafficking people, because of the nature of the games.

Members on this side of this House, as you know, we have an amendment that we would like to add to strengthen this motion.

I commend members opposite for putting this motion forward. It's something we would like to see here.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Are there any other discussions on this motion?

Ms. Mathyssen.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

I would also like to support the intent of this motion, because if we are going to address this crime against women, we have to begin in our own backyard. I would like to add my support.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Procedurally you have an amendment to the motion. So before I call for a vote, I'd like to....

Yes, Mr. Stanton.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

A point of order, Madam Chair. Perhaps it's more of a question, but I think it is a point of order.

Are we talking about the amendment that Ms. Neville put forward to her own motion?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

No, we are talking about Ms. Smith's amendment.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

The one that was circulated?

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

The one that just arrived on our desks.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

All right, thank you. I appreciate that.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I will read it out. As I say, this is an amendment to strengthen the intent of the original motion, which we consider a very good one to have. This is the amendment to the motion:

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women recommends to the government that a plan be developed in collaboration with provincial and municipal counterparts as well as experts from the police, international organizations and NGOs and implemented prior to the opening of the 2010 Olympics to curtail the trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes during the duration of the games and that the Chair report the adoption of this motion to the House without delay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Are there any discussions on this motion?

Ms. Davidson.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you.

I'd like to speak in support of the amendment. I think the original motion is very much needed. The amendment does strengthen the original motion. The testimony we heard was that no one group can do it by themselves; it needs to be in collaboration with the people who are going to be there, on the street and working with the people.

The federal government needs to have that collaboration to put a workable plan in place. I support the amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Ms. Neville.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you.

I also support the amendment, Madam Chair.

It reinforces something that concerns me that we did not deal with adequately in the report on human trafficking. Not only are we looking at the trafficking of individuals from outside the country, but we also have to be very cognizant of the trafficking of individuals within our own borders and across the country.

In putting this amendment forward, it may well address some of those issues as well.

There are two weaknesses in our trafficking report, and it is the internal trafficking that we might have been stronger on. So this amendment would address that, and I support it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Thank you.

Procedurally there is an amendment on the floor that I'm sure—I'm going to speak for the committee—the committee agrees with.

But there is another amendment, which Ms. Neville spoke about, that would basically make it even stronger, because you do not really want it only during the duration of the games.

So what I would like to do is vote first on Ms. Smith's amendment. Then I propose that someone else—because procedurally Ms. Neville cannot amend her own motion—put another amendment for the removal of those six words.

You can't do it either, Ms. Smith.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Madam Chair, we should amend the member's motion before we amend the main motion.