Evidence of meeting #19 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was calendar.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Blake Richards
Thank you.
We're now onto the second round, starting with Ms. Petitpas Taylor.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Thank you.
Me again, Mr. Arsenault.
I think you said at the very start of your presentation that 29% of Quebec MNAs are women. Did I understand that correctly?
12:55 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
Actually, 28% of MNAs are women.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
12:55 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
No, you're right; it is 29%. I'm sorry.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Thank you.
Do you have statistics for minority groups as well?
12:55 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
Yes, we definitely have those statistics, but I don't have them with me. I could send them to the committee, though.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Excellent.
All that to say, we want to make sure that Parliament reflects Canada's population. And by that, we don't just mean women and minority groups, but the age of our MPs as well.
Could you tell us what the average age is of members who sit in the National Assembly of Quebec?
12:55 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
It's currently 53. I checked and found out that MNAs over age 50 currently make up about 70% of the parliamentary representation. In other words, 70% of MNAs are 50 or older. The average age is 53 years old. The 18-39 age group—young people—currently represent 10%, which isn't very high.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Do you think that if there were more young MNAs, family policies might be a little different?
12:55 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
Possibly. It's probably the same for you. In a parliament, when there are a lot of new members who, initially, don't have as developed a parliamentary culture, it is completely normal that they would question a lot of things. Needless to say, these new parliamentarians raise more questions than those who have been doing the job for 20 years, although parliamentarians who have 10, 15 or 20 years of experience also question certain procedures. In fact, society is changing, particularly with regard to the role of women, and Parliament is not impervious to this.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
My last question has to do with parental leave.
Would it be frowned upon if a member decided to take parental leave, or would the member be encouraged to take it?
12:55 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
That's a good question. I don't know. You would have to ask the parliamentarians or the population. I don't know how it might be perceived.
From a purely practical perspective, it raises one question: if a member takes six months of parental leave to take care of his or her child, who will take care of that member's riding? Indeed, it will be necessary to ensure that voters in that riding still have a voice and that the work in the riding is being done. I think this is true for all parliamentarians. None of them wants to see the voters abandoned or less well-served if they take leave.
It's difficult for me to provide a precise answer to the question. I imagine that the answer varies depending on who you ask.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Just before we let you go, on parental leave, as I was saying earlier, from the research that we have done, we know that in Sweden members of Parliament do take parental leave and get replacement MPs to handle their ridings at that time. That's a very interesting concept. In fact, the ministers are not allowed to sit in the legislative assembly in Sweden. They each get a replacement, because they're supposed to be off doing other work. It's an interesting model.
I have one question before we let you go. We discussed security a bit. I often leave my office at two or three in the morning. If we have late-night sittings, staff have to leave late. Did you have any discussions about late-night security, for people leaving the assembly, such as staff or MNAs?
1 p.m.
Director of Parliamentary Proceedings, National Assembly of Quebec
Yes, a bit, but it's important to mention that the parking lots for people who drive are still fairly close to the National Assembly. They aren't necessarily on the National Assembly grounds, but they are still fairly close. Parliament Hill is very well covered by security camera systems. The area around Parliament is really very secure. Indeed, someone who leaves the premises at two in the morning, when the streets are deserted, may have some concerns, but as far as I know, no MNA or staff member has had any unfortunate incidents in the area.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Thank you very much.
I think this has been very helpful to us. You have some new ideas, some new things for us to think about. We appreciate your taking this time. I know you're very busy. Thank you very much.
There's one thing for the committee before you leave. We were talking about kids a lot today, so what do you guys think about having a playground in front of Centre Block?
1 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!