Evidence of meeting #38 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was business.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Can I conclude quickly since my time is nearly up?
We talked about it before you began your testimony. There are different types of services, even for businesses. There is a multitude ...
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
Mr. Casey, I think Mr. Ayoub raised a very important point. Perhaps you'll want to clarify for the record if, in your opinion, the government's commitment is to restore home delivery or to save it.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
Save. Thank you.
We'll now go to a five-minute round with Mr. Kmiec.
October 5th, 2016 / 12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Thank you, all, for coming in today.
Mr. Casey, I know we sparred in the past in the House on the custom of appointing judges from Atlantic Canada, but I'm not going to talk about that today. We can do that off-line again.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Good. I'm glad. I still haven't looked at his transcript from yesterday.
I have two questions for Ms. Carroll and three questions for you, Mr. Casey.
I'll start with you, Mr. Casey. I only have five minutes.
Why didn't you pick up the phone on October 19 and just get the Prime Minister to basically stop the changes?
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Okay.
Are you happy with the progress that's been made to save home delivery? It's been almost a year and as far as I know, there's been a stop to it but nothing else has been done.
Are you satisfied with the government's progress so far?
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Last, do you think the government prejudged the committee's findings? I ask this because you sit as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice, and you are much closer to the government than any member in this room. The committee's findings are independent of whatever the government may wish, including what's in that platform. Because I'm not a member, I'm not bound by the past.
Do you think it's been prejudged?
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
Sean Casey Liberal Charlottetown, PE
I wish it were.
It appears that your mandate is such that it hasn't been prejudged, but it should have been. I don't understand why the committee would be given the latitude to make a recommendation that runs counter to the platform, but it appears that you have.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Are you satisfied with Minister Foote's performance, then?
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
Sean Casey Liberal Charlottetown, PE
That's a tough one.
I have raised this on several occasions directly with Minister Foote. I'm not happy with how this file is progressing. Can I pin it on her personally? I don't think that's fair.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Okay.
Thank you, Mr. Casey.
Ms. Carroll, thanks very much for coming.
We've heard from a lot of seniors' organizations. I always appreciate hearing different points of view.
I come from a large urban Calgary riding that has mostly community mailboxes. Some of them are like yours here, in that they just sit on the sidewalk. Some of them are centrally located. They have roofs over them, some of them have walls, and some have excellent lighting. Some of them are very well thought out and some of them were just built by the developer and placed there with the help of Canada Post.
Do you think the issue of placement and where CMBs are located is an insurmountable problem in doing it in a place like Charlottetown?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, The PEI Council of People with Disabilities
I'm not an urban planner, so it's a challenge for me to answer that.
What I can tell you is that it creates insurmountable problems for the people I serve. People with disabilities are finding it a real challenge, particularly in the wintertime, to get their mail. They're feeling vulnerable at the boxes and they're feeling vulnerable when they have to turn to caregivers or family members to ask them to collect their mail. It's a loss of dignity and autonomy when we used to have a perfectly good service that worked. That was door-to-door service.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
Can I ask a follow-up question, then? I have many seniors in my community. Communities on the west side of Calgary Shepard are on a slope. There are six of them, and they are all on a slope, so obviously all seniors who live in those communities would have difficulty getting to their CMBs. They do it anyway, because that's the way it is. If we are going to be fair and equitable to all seniors, shouldn't we expand it to everybody who currently has CMBs to get door-to-door delivery?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, The PEI Council of People with Disabilities
Ideally, yes.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
You would expand it to every single place right now that is served by a community mailbox.
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, The PEI Council of People with Disabilities
Yes, I would. It probably wouldn't be a good business decision, but it would be the decision I would make.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative