Veterans Affairs Committee on Jan. 31st, 2008

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

That is fascinating.

Now I'd like to go over to Mr. Valley for a quick round.

[Roger Valley, Liberal, Kenora, ON]

I probably missed it, and I apologize, but we talked about age-friendly communities, healthy aging, and active aging. I'm going to add a word, when I speak to my own municipalities, about exercise-friendly communities, because especially in first nations, something as simple as road dust treatment can keep the people outside working and walking. They won't do it otherwise. So I'm going to add the word “exercise”. I just thought I'd add that in.

Thank you very much.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Chairman, I don't have a question. I just wanted to ask if we could have Mr. Rocan table a report that was done, “Healthy Aging in Canada: A New Vision, A Vital Investment”. I just wonder if we could get a copy for each member, particularly the recommended framework for action. That plays right into our work here.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

All right. Mr. Rocan is amenable to that.

With that, then, I'd like to thank our witnesses. Thank you very much. Every time we bring somebody before us, we learn something. That was very much the case today. So thank you very much.

We do have a couple of items of committee business. Some members may choose to come up and say hello and goodbye and thank you and this sort of thing, but I'll just kind of roll on, if you don't mind, with some of the business.

All right, committee members, just to let you know, we have a new travel budget request.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Chair, while we're waiting, Mr. Sweet and I were today at the public accounts committee, and we heard from a brigadier general and a major general some very interesting information on what the defence department is doing about PTSD and mental health concerns. If possible, I think it would be very helpful for this committee if the clerk asked the clerk of the public accounts committee for the presentations given by the Auditor General and the two generals. We don't necessarily need the Hansard of what all the MPs said, but the presentations would be very helpful to this committee in its study of what Mr. Perron was talking about earlier with respect to PTSD. Their statistical information, what they're trying to do, and how it can be moved forward was very interesting. It was very interesting this morning.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

Okay, we've made a note of that, and we'll proceed from there.

To go to the travel budget request here, this is with regard to the trip to Shearwater, Nova Scotia; Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador; Comox, British Columbia; and Cold Lake, Alberta. There are two committee members who say they will not be able to travel with the committee. Ms. Hinton has a travel restriction, and Mr. Sweet has some conflicting appointments and schedule issues.

We have amended it, or changed it, so that there will be ten committee members travelling, which brings the budget down slightly. I know that some people on the government side have had a chance to talk with government members of the liaison committee, and hopefully members of the opposition will do likewise.

The budget we have now to travel to those four different locations is $118,434. That's about it. If there are no questions, I'll proceed with that to the liaison committee on Tuesday. Hopefully we'll get a positive response.

Go ahead, Mr. Valley.

[Roger Valley, Liberal, Kenora, ON]

I just have a question.

As much as we like Ottawa, and I realize that it's important to be here, can we only get to Goose Bay on Friday? Is that why we can't go there on Wednesday, instead of actually staying here in Ottawa?

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

I'll let the clerk answer that. He may have a better idea--

[Roger Valley, Liberal, Kenora, ON]

We see our colleagues every day. We don't need to see them on Wednesday.

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Alexandre Roger]

It's up to the committee to decide.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

I remember that he approached me about that issue, and I indicated to him that I thought most members would probably want to be in their caucuses on Wednesday, except for Mr. Valley and Mr. Stoffer. We'll have to notify their whips.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

I didn't realize that. We have a question on the 10th, so we would have to fly out sometime on Sunday. Would we be back here on Wednesday?

[The Clerk]

We would be back on Tuesday. I sent out the itinerary yesterday.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

It would be Tuesday night. Okay. I haven't been in my office since this morning.

[Roger Valley, Liberal, Kenora, ON]

I just throw out to the floor, to all members who would prefer to do this in four straight days, that we would want it that way. If there is no acceptance, that's fine. But with this agenda, I wouldn't be returning home until late Saturday night. I don't mind that, but I prefer to go on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

Okay, we can take a straw vote on it.

Mr. St. Denis.

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

I totally agree. On a personal note, there is one of our members, the member whose riding includes Goose Bay, whose sister is getting married on the Thursday. If this were agreeable and the logistics could be done, I would vote for Goose Bay on Wednesday so that our colleague could be with us in his riding.

The wedding is Thursday, isn't that right?

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Why doesn't he invite us to the wedding?

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

We are invited.

That's the only proviso. The member could be with us in his riding in Goose Bay if we did it Wednesday and came back to Shearwater. This means Shearwater would be the same day, which is good.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

I'm going to somewhat defer to the clerk, who has been making all the arrangements for this.

Do you have a sense of how this would all work, given the scenario proposed here?

[The Clerk]

If we go to Goose Bay on Wednesday, I'll just have to ask CFB Goose Bay if they can accommodate us on that day. I don't have an answer right now, but I could get back to the committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

I want to do a bit of a straw poll on this. The option, as I see it, is a five-day engagement with a stop in Ottawa on Wednesday, or potentially....

Do you think it can be done in a four-day engagement?

[The Clerk]

I'll try. I'll talk to CFB Goose Bay.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

Let's do a straw poll. I think the two options are for five days, with a stop in Ottawa on Wednesday, or four days, condensed as best we can.

Would those in favour of a five-day scenario, with a stop in Ottawa on Wednesday, please so indicate?

I see two.

All those with a preferred option of a condensed four-day scenario, if possible, please signify.

I see five.

I think there's a general will there. If the clerk can accommodate it, he is so instructed—if it's possible.

We had a gentleman who was supposed to appear before us but who had health difficulties, coughing up bodily fluids such as blood, etc. The idea here is that the brief submitted by Lorne McCartney on behalf of ANAVETS, who could not appear at our meeting of December 13 because of an illness, be included in the evidence of that committee meeting.

[Betty Hinton, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I don't have a problem; it's just that it's hard to include something in evidence when you haven't had an opportunity to question the person who was supposed to be presenting it.