Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Dec. 5th, 2017

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Thank you.

We'll now go to Mr. Garrison.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I thank the witnesses for being here today.

I particularly want to thank CNIB for the Braille handout , because I will never look at my election materials the same way again after today. That was a very effective way of reaching me as a politician, so I thank you for that.

I've tried to listen carefully to things you were saying, and I've heard three or four very good ideas. I'm going to tell you what I've heard, and I'm going to ask you to tell me what I've missed and what I've left out from that.

One of the things that was common was that this committee should build a requirement to be fully accessible into the leadership debate arrangements from the beginning. The second is that there should be an advisory committee for people with disabilities, and not just a commitment at the beginning, but ongoing consultation as the debates get developed. A third thing is that multiple platforms for the debates would help make them more accessible, and funding should be available to make sure the accessibility can be accommodated.

Those are the main things I heard from you today. I know that's not everything you had to say, but we need to get the committee to focus on the things that need to be there. I'm going to ask each one of the four of you here today, starting with Mr. Folino and working back across the table, to tell me if those capture what you're trying to say, as well as what I've missed.

[Frank Folino]

What you've documented is appropriate. I would agree with what you've encapsulated. Thank you.

[James Hicks]

You've done a really good job at summarizing everything and pulling out the salient points.

[Diane Bergeron]

I agree with the other two speakers about the key points.

There's also the fact of making sure not just that the debate is accessible, but also that the marketing or advertising is accessible, because people need to know when the debate is going to be happening, how the debate is going to be happening, and on what platforms it's going to be happening. If you build it, we will come. If you don't tell us it's built, we will assume it's the same as always: we won't know where to go or how to get there, and we'll assume we're not going to be accommodated.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Thank you very much for that.

Mr. Simpson, would you comment?

[Thomas Simpson]

Ditto.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

It has really been very useful to have you here. I've heard from people with disabilities in my riding who say they hear nice words and see nodding, and then later they have to come back and make the same presentation. I hope on the part of this committee that this doesn't happen, but I know that's too often the experience of people with disabilities. Everyone says the nice things and nods the right way, and then nothing actually happens.

I see a lot of nodding around the table, and I hope the committee will take your testimony today very seriously and build it in.

[Diane Bergeron]

Descriptive video would have told me that very well. Thank you.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

That's what I was trying to be, descriptive video.

[Diane Bergeron]

Yes, well done. You're hired.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Thank you.

We very much appreciate your coming. It's a very new perspective, as some of you said, that hasn't been covered sufficiently in the past, and now we have no excuse for not making sure it's covered in the future, from your excellent testimony.

Thank you very much.

Committee, we have to take a couple of minutes to go in camera for committee business.

[Proceedings continue in camera]