Evidence of meeting #16 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cuts.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
I agree 100%, and that's what this committee is trying to address. You said that a vast majority of the $3.5 billion was designated for this, and that you had a strategy or game plan to address the issue. This is one of the crucial problems we are trying to resolve. It is pertinent to my riding in particular.
Obviously, it would take too long for you to tell us the entire strategy, but perhaps you could table with us the essence of the strategy or policy framework that you were going to spend the money on.
12:35 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress
We've tabled with your government all sorts of documents about what we see as important in workplace strategies. The work that was going to be done on labour market partner agreements, our efforts on the workplace skills strategy—these are things that, when you talk about how to get organizations to move, only come about when you get people working together.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
Sorry, I don't mean to be curt, but I would like to see something in relation to aboriginal workers and people with disabilities. That's the area that interests me. Could I get you to table that with us?
12:35 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress
The money was aimed at a number of equality-seeking groups, including aboriginal people and recent immigrants.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
Well, if I could see your strategy, maybe we could implement some of those things.
12:35 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress
Sure, we can drown you in documents.
12:35 p.m.
Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress
The question is, will you read them and will you talk to us about them later?
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Ms. Lysack, I want you to explain how the spending reallocations adversely affected your organization. What dollar amounts have been cut from your organization, and how will this affect you?
12:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
At this point, no dollars have been cut from our organization. We have two contracts through the social development partnerships program. We were very surprised by all of this. We had no inclination that these were coming. When we heard it in the media, we actually had to scramble around trying to find somebody who could tell us whether we were being cut.
We will be allowed to carry on the two research projects we are engaged in. Overall, it's not the CCAAC that's going to be harmed by this. We will survive.
In response to the chill factor people have spoken about, I want to assure you that when we met with our members, who came from coast to coast to coast to discuss this issue and its impact on them, we talked about whether or not we would take a lower profile. Our decision was: in for a penny, in for a pound.
If there's one thing you can't take away, it's our voice.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
Let me be clear. We don't receive any core funding. As someone pointed out, CPRN has a unique funding arrangement. Unlike most of the voluntary sector, we receive no core funding,
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
During the previous Liberal government, how much funding did your organization receive? Was it hundreds of thousands, almost a million dollars?
12:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
Over our 25 years in existence we have certainly received--
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
I can't answer exactly about the last thirteen years.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
We have received...I don't know, $500,000, maybe. I don't know.
Maybe somebody else knows.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
12:35 p.m.
Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
I do want to respond to that.
