Status of Women Committee on April 10th, 2008

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

It was the report from the committee.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Right. So it would be a response to that report.

I feel like.... Okay.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

Are there further questions or comments? If not, we will be calling the vote.

(Motion agreed to) [See Minutes of Proceedings]

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

We do have a couple of other items of business we must deal with before we adjourn this morning.

Everybody is to be reminded of the special meeting on Monday with the German delegation. It is to be held in Room 214, Wellington Building, from 3:30 until 5:00. I think everybody received notice of that meeting.

I have a note here from the chair on a proposed motion that the committee be authorized to purchase gifts to be presented to foreign delegations visiting Ottawa. Do you wish to add anything to that?

[Erica Pereira, Procedural Clerk]

Chair, basically what happens is that you need this motion to get the budget to buy the gifts. Each committee has a $1,200 hospitality fund for the year. You won't have to use the entire amount.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

So the dollars are there, but we need the motion to release the money.

It is moved by Madam Minna and seconded by Madame Boucher.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Madam Chair, I would like to ask an ad hoc question about this. You say that we have a budget of $1,200 a year for buying gifts. We have never used it. Can we combine the unused amounts to go to Yellowknife for the National Aboriginal Women's Summit? We should think about that.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

I think that if you wish to move a motion to travel, we can discuss it at another meeting.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

No, it would be to use the unspent money for travel.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

It might be recognized that we have been pretty economical.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

I'm not sure that's allowed.

We haven't yet voted on this motion to access the funds.

(Motion agreed to) [See Minutes of Proceedings]

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

The chair has written me some other notes.

There is a reminder that the Auditor General is going to mull over GBA and see how her department can move forward with it. There is also a note to state that we have supplied the finance department with the blues on the testimony that took place the other day from the last couple of meetings, so they will have those before they appear before us at the next meeting. Also, the questions that are compiled for the committee will be distributed on Monday for your Tuesday meeting.

On May 1, I believe we don't have anything on the schedule. It says gender-based analysis training. That's what is on our work plan, and the commissioner can come on May 1 if the committee wants that regarding the GBA training--no, it's the Commissioner of Official Languages, instead of the GBA training. It's to see how that commissioner operates. Do you wish to have that commissioner, the official languages commissioner, here on May 1?

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Why?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

It's to see how that commissioner operates and works. Are we agreed?

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Madam Chair, I would like to know how the Commissioner of Official Languages works, but I also want the report to be done after our meetings have moved forward. We are talking about May 1. We leave for the summer in June. We have heard a number of witnesses, and I think we are starting to get a good handle on the subject. The fact that some witnesses are starting to report and comment on what other witnesses have said may tell us that there has been enough testimony.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

I believe that on May 1 we're going to be dealing with a summary of the evidence as well. That's on our work plan. The final report is May 27, but the summary of evidence is on May 1.

Is that satisfactory?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Is there any chance of bringing forward the summary of evidence when we come back, during the week after the break?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

We have main estimates on the Tuesday when we come back.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

I see.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

The analyst has just said that we can move the report up and not have a summary of evidence, if that would be satisfactory to the committee.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

I think it might be worth while to see the draft report and go from there.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

Madame Boucher.

We're going to cut this off in a minute.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

The Chair had sent us a memo about the action plan.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

I understand that, but I'm just trying to bring things forward. I would like to get this finished.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Patricia Davidson]

We're going to do committee business at the beginning of the next meeting. We will ask that the motion from the chair regarding the action plan be placed in committee business at the beginning of the next meeting.

This meeting is adjourned.