Thank you. Thank you for those wonderful remarks.
My testimony is going to be completely different. I'm here with my colleague, Sara MacNaull, who has just completed a study on flexibility and flexible work arrangements, including at several crown corporations. I'm here as a researcher but also as somebody who has spent the last 30 years working with organizations to create environments that are supportive of families and not just friendly but actually fully inclusive.
In my experience, successful organizations that take on this task take it on usually out of the goodness of their hearts because they understand that it's the right thing to do. There's also a tonne of evidence that shows that when organizations make accommodations, and adjust what and how they conduct work, there is a win-win-win: productivity increases, efficiency and effectiveness increase, and individual health and wellness increase.
When we look at the organizations across Canada and around the world that are involved in looking at the same issues that this committee is looking at, about 50% take a very strategic view. The other 50% take it on as it comes, so whatever the issue is they deal with it and take care of it and then move on to something else. Those that are successful over the long term are the ones that look at this phenomenon very strategically. There are many motivating factors for organizations getting involved in this, some of which have been discussed here today, whether it's changing demographics, whether it's inclusion, whether it's competition, and that's looking at different organizations.
But I think looking at it from Parliament's perspective there are a couple of things that are unique to Parliament. I think the first thing that needs to be made really clear is: what is the frame? What is the framework that you're going to be hanging all of these initiatives around? I also think that it's going to be really important because we're looking 20 to 30 years out. We're looking at a framework for a policy not just for today. As one of the questioners said, what about the future when there might be 10 or 15 children?
As the complexities of families increase and as there are more blended families, more skip-generation families, more families responsible for elder care and caring for disabled siblings in adulthood, it’s important that we don't just look at family from one perspective but that we look at it much more holistically. Not only is Parliament going to be addressing the unique needs here on the Hill and with parliamentarians and the extended family associated with Parliament, the people who work and support and who sit around the edges of these rooms, but also the people in the riding offices and in the homes back in the ridings.
It's also a very significant role that you will play not only in Canada as a role model as a leading organization taking a look at these issues strategically, but also around the world as well. Other parliaments around the globe are also trying to deal with the demographic phenomenon that we're all experiencing in our lives today, but it's also going to be under the microscope for not only those who may be considering running and those who cast votes but also those who are looking at modelling based on the experience here. I think from looking at where you're at today and where you want to be, and being really clear around what your priorities are, it will become much easier to identify the leading and promising practices that are out there to learn from.
In my 30 years as a consultant working with organizations, I spent an enormous amount of time around boardroom tables in the automotive industry, in pharmaceuticals, in manufacturing. Just before I came to the Vanier Institute I spent time with the teamsters. This is an issue that crosses over every possible workplace.
What's unique about finding a way to create a culture of inclusion, and not just family-friendly policies and practices but embracing the concept of inclusion and making sure that everybody feels not only welcome but fully supported to participate in their respective roles, whether it's the member of Parliament, whether it's the spouses or the circle of support around them, whether it's their constituency, or whether it's the members in their ridings.... I think this is a really important opportunity for Canada to build on the experience of the past.
There have been non-strategic, one-off situations. We also need to recognize that you're going to be under the microscope from the perspective of the child development specialists and the pediatricians across the country, and that it's not just about finding a place to park infants or to put children but about creating a healthy environment for them so that it not only makes it possible for parliamentarians to survive and fulfill their responsibilities, but for the children to truly thrive in an environment in which their child development is as optimal as possible.