Human Resources committee  The answer is no. Our mandate relates solely to international adoptions.

Human Resources committee  I would like to clarify one thing. Current programs aimed at supporting families, children or adoptive parents apply at both the domestic and international levels.

Human Resources committee  Yes, exactly. There is a tax credit for expenses incurred by people who adopt a child, for instance. Those benefits apply in both cases.

Human Resources committee  Your summary is absolutely correct. With respect to international adoptions, in addition to the responsibilities that you described—and there are probably others as well—our primary role is to coordinate efforts with the provinces. Mr. Griffith referred to that. That is particula

Human Resources committee  Yes, and in some countries, the conditions are such that we have no assurances about certain things. For example, we talked about fundamental principles. We have to begin by looking for a solution inside the country—in other words, with close family members. After that, we try to

Human Resources committee  My view is that relations with the provinces are excellent and that things are working very well. Cooperation in that area is practically exemplary, because everyone wants to be sure to do the right thing. Ultimately, we all agree on the fact that the welfare of the child is at s

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to thank you for inviting us and giving us this opportunity to speak to you about federal supports for adoptive parents. With me today is Louis Beauséjour, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, who will be

Human Resources committee  In terms of support for families and children, the government does have programs in place to meet their needs. Those programs will continue to be offered. The Old Age Security Program was never designed with that in mind; rather, it was designed to meet the specific needs of seni

Human Resources committee  I have two answers. First of all, let's talk about income and this very specific case. My feeling is that we are talking about two different things, and that there is some confusion in that regard. My answer was specific in the sense that the Old Age Security Program was implemen

Human Resources committee  The minister did identify a certain number of federal programs that support families, such as—

Human Resources committee  She gave very specific examples. Reference was made to disabled persons, for example, and there are specific programs aimed at children as well.

Human Resources committee  Yes. That's the purpose of the information sharing agreement we will have, to be able to access the appropriate information that we need to be sure, first of all, that we are informed of incarceration or release, as well as any information required to make sure that we deal with

Human Resources committee  I would say that's a much broader debate. In that context, what we concentrated on was the fact that they were public funds--OAS--that were paid to people who were incarcerated while their basic needs were looked after.

Human Resources committee  There are two situations. If you're saying that the incarcerated spouse is over 65, so therefore receiving OAS, and the non-incarcerated spouse is younger than 60 years old, for example, the OAS of the incarcerated person will be suspended, yes.

Human Resources committee  With regard to old age security, the spouse will receive the full entitlement as for any other eligible person. If the person has other revenues, that's something else. If they don't have any other revenues, that's when the income supplement, the GIS, kicks in. It means there are