Human Resources Committee on Feb. 15th, 2011

[Michael Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Thank you, Chair.

I think I support both Mr. Komarnicki and Madame Folco on this. It's very simple. This was a bill for which we only allocated a small amount of time because it seemed at the time everybody was supporting it. Now some good issues have been brought up that need to be dealt with, so we need to deal with those. I think Madame Folco has indicated some openness to doing that.

But because we only allocated a small amount of time doesn't mean that it now goes to the bottom of the heap, so to speak. I think we should give Madame Folco the respect of setting a date. It's two weeks away or more. I think that's reasonable. We can get everything done, in my view.

I also think we need to allocate some time on Thursday to have a look at our agenda over the next couple of months and reallocate Bill C-304, which Mr. Martin mentioned. It's important. We have a couple of motions that we have to discuss that haven't previously been dealt with by the subcommittee or by the whole committee.

I think we need to spend some time on our agenda, perhaps on Thursday.

Thanks.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

All right.

Mr. Martin, please.

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Thank you for the opportunity to make my case here.

I'm in agreement with the motion by both Mr. Komarnicki and Madame Folco on Bill C-481.

I guess I'm looking for some advice from the clerk as to what a reference from the Speaker means in terms of the order of business of the committee.

We had a reference, before Christmas, of Bill C-304. We're very close to getting it done. If we put it on the agenda for Thursday, I think we could get at least that piece of business out of the way and get it back into the House, where it can be dealt with in a more fulsome fashion. Then we would have lived up to our responsibility here to respond to that kind of reference and to make sure that it in fact happened.

We have a whole bunch of things hanging out there now. The biggest priority for me, and at one point for this committee, is Bill C-304. At a meeting a week ago, we suggested--I believe it was Mr. Lessard--that we take half an hour before our regular meeting at some point. I thought that was going to happen over the last week or so. It didn't happen, even though I thought we had unanimous consent to in fact do that.

If we could get to Bill C-304 at some point on Thursday, I think we would be living up to our responsibility here of responding to the Speaker's referral of this very important matter to our committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

To answer your question, we have until April 14 to get to Bill C-304 and report it back to the House.

We have so much to do, but that's why we have a work plan. Part of our problem is that we keep getting off our work plan, because we're quite reactive and I think we need to be proactive. I think we have a good work plan set until the Thursday after we get back from break. After that, there's nothing scheduled, so that's when we can finish Bill C-304. I would think we could finish Bill C-481. We also have an invitation out to the minister to come. Then we would also begin the disability study.

I think rather than being too reactive on some of these things, let's stick to our plan. It's amazing how we can actually get some things done if we do.

I hear you, Mr. Martin. We have a motion right now that we have to deal with. We're almost finished our time. Let's deal with the motion. Then I can get a consensus and we can maybe begin half an hour earlier on Thursday and at least see if we can discuss this and then finalize our plan. I'm not saying that we can get to Bill C-304 on Thursday, but we can decide what date we will look at Bill C-304 and what we will do after Mr. Lessard's study, unless Mr. Lessard is willing to give up that study. But I know that he was very adamant that he wanted to get to that, and that was what we had all agreed to.

Right now we're looking at March 3 to resume. That was the date you were looking at. Did you want to keep that date?

We are just about out of time. We do have a list of speakers.

Go ahead, Mr. Vellacott.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

I think we should just leave it so that we have a fuller discussion in terms of how we're staggering the whole work plan from here. That's all my point is.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Mr. Lessard, you're next.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

I was getting worried, Madam Chair.

We had decided to give priority to other matters, including the decision to deal with the long form first. There are two motions before the committee. We dealt with one of them, and now we need to deal with the other. It should not take all that long. We had agreed to make that the priority.

We had also decided to make Canada summer jobs a priority. It might be a good idea to say that we agree....

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Mr. Lessard, we're not discussing our work plan at this moment. We're discussing the amendment. So March 3--

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

That is what I am talking about, Madam Chair.

[Josée Beaudin, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

She said that is not what she wants to talk about.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

You do not want to discuss the work plan? We are in favour of Mr. Komarnicki's motion, as well as Ms. Folco's amendment.

However, I would say that we should revise our work plan so as to take into account the priorities we had already set, since you said earlier that this was taking us off course. So we need to rewrite the work plan and meet a bit earlier on Thursday in order to update all that. I don't think it is productive to rush through it. Perhaps we could redo the plan and, on Thursday, before we get to our regular business, decide on a new work plan.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

All right. Our meeting is pretty well over. What I would like to suggest is that we meet half an hour early on Thursday so that we can discuss--

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

We're not going to have a vote, Madam Chair?

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

There are still speakers on the list, and this is what we--

[An hon. member]

Couldn't we agree to have a vote on that?

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Well, I still have speakers, and I don't have time right now for you to speak.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

What is on the agenda for Thursday, Madam Chair?

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

This is what I want to discuss with you.

We have planned for the last four weeks to finish up the adoption study. So we have one hour of witnesses in the first hour. In the second hour our analysts want to discuss the options for their report on the adoption study.

That's what we have planned. We have had some difficulty getting the witnesses we had been trying to bring in, but we have another panel of witnesses who have contacted me, at least. I think they've contacted all of us.

So we do have witnesses for the first hour. In the second hour we will be wrapping up the adoption study.

When we come back the week after break we will be dealing with your study.

Do we have a consensus to meet here at 10:30? Can we all be here at 10:30 on Thursday? I see that some can and some can't. Then at least we can resume this, finish this up, so we know when we're going to be looking at your bill, when we'll be finishing with Bill C-304.

Is there a consensus?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

I have a point of order.

If we're meeting early on Thursday, it's to resume debate on her amendment. Is that correct?

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

That's correct, but I'm hoping we could get done....

Yes.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Ms. Folco raised a very important concern, in my opinion. On Thursday, we will not be hearing from children on the adoption study?

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

No, they're not children.

We will send out a notice. We will call a meeting for half an hour earlier and hope that as many of you who can be here will be here.

The meeting is adjourned.