Evidence of meeting #12 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was benefit.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Lucille Harper  Executive Director, Antigonish Women's Resource Centre
Denise Page  Health Policy Analyst, Canadian Cancer Society
Neil Cohen  Executive Director, Community Unemployed Help Centre
Marie White  National Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
Pamela Fancey  Associate Director, Nova Scotia Centre on Aging
Verna Heinrichs  As an Individual

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

We have an amendment on the floor.

Would you like to put that in some form of writing for me, please, Ms. Hoeppner?

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Sure.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Until we get to that, I think Ms. Neville wanted to say something.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

This will be very brief, Madam Chair.

I'm not going to propose an amendment. I'd be prepared to go with the four meetings. I do want to comment, though, on the fact that sometimes we have to be flexible in our agenda. I appreciate that we have prioritized issues, but sometimes issues emerge that require a response, or that should have a response. This one came up after, I think, we prioritized our work plan.

So I have no problem with it. In fact, I may be bringing forward another issue myself.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Ms. Hoeppner, do you have the amendment?

I think we have discussed this issue, so we can call the vote on it. We have another motion to deal with.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

I'm just about finished.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

I just want to remind the committee that there had been some form of consensus that we would remove the word “immediately”.

So the amendment would read.... This is not an amendment. It really is a whole new motion.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Sorry, I couldn't....

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

You're replacing all of names here with....

Ms. Hoeppner is suggesting, or amending, that we remove everything from the words “and invite Minister Vic Toews” all the way down to the word “upon”. As well, we would remove “hold four extra meetings”.

The amendment would thus be that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women hold one meeting and invite departmental officials regarding pay equity.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

I'm sorry, I can't write the amendment in 30 seconds. Basically, you understand the concept of what I'm proposing. If you'd like me to prepare an amendment, I would need a little more time.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

I just said what your amendment did.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Well, I'm asking for one—

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

It removed all of those other people. You are suggesting “department officials”, so you are not inviting the minister or any of the other people who constituted the bulk of the original motion.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON

But she wasn't changing “to examine the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act”. You said something different in there.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

No, I said “and invite Minister Toews” was going to be removed in her amendment, up to the word “upon”.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

And “Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act” is—

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

That is before “and invite Minister Toews”.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Madam Chair, I apologize. I wrote it out very quickly, and I would like to retain the reference to the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act. That's basically what we're looking at.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

In that case, the amendment, as I said before, reads: “That the Standing Committee on the Status of Women hold one meeting”—instead of four —“to examine the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act”. Then everything is removed from the words “invite Minister Vic Toews” till “agrees upon” and replaced by “invite departmental officials”.

12:50 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

I would like time to prepare a written copy of the amendment and bring it back for next time.

12:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Well, this motion was moved to be dealt with today.

12:50 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Madam Chair, we've been dealing with this since last week, and this is the third time that it's come forward. I'd simply like a decision on it. I think it's time for one.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Do you have a point of order?

12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Yes, I would like to have a properly written amendment. Obviously it's not going to be properly written in 25 seconds.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry

Usually, Ms. Hoeppner, when people make an amendment on a motion that's on the floor, they do it at the time. We don't bring it back another day. The amendment is one that you have said you wanted to put in, and it is simple.