Human Resources Committee on March 8th, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

I know it was scheduled that we were going to start the study. I believe it was the meeting following the 22nd, but let me check.

I'm looking at the schedule that we all agreed on, which you probably have as well. Right now we have scheduled meetings that don't have anything to do with disability right up until March 24. The next open meeting would be the on 29th.

I think we had agreed by consensus that we would start the disability study, but if I hear you correctly, you'd actually like to take some time to have a framework meeting.

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

Yes. I thought that at the first meeting, if it's to be the 29th, we could invite some of the disability community leaders to talk to us about what they see today in 2011 as the important issues for us to address in any study that we might do.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Mr. Savage.

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

It was certainly my understanding that we were going to do that before we started.

We haven't yet determined a topic for the study. I know that some people in the disability community would like it to be on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and how Canada can do more to honour the ratification of that convention. I think we should bring in CCD, CACL, and some others to get input on what the study should specifically be about.

I also want to remind committee members that I still have a motion on the floor about recreating the subcommittee on persons with disabilities, which may come into the discussion at the same time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

If the committee is in agreement, I would propose that we take some time on the 29th to hear from witnesses. We could then take some time to go in camera to discuss as a committee how we'd like to proceed on this study and how many witnesses we'll have. We could have a good and thorough discussion on it.

If everyone is in agreement, we would do that on the 29th. We would have witnesses for the first hour, and we'd then go in camera for the last hour to have a discussion.

Go ahead, Mr. Lessard.

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

I would like to have a better understanding of the process involved, Madam Chair. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe there is a consensus to strike a subcommittee to move the process forward.

I would like to know more about the witnesses. Who could enlighten us on this matter? Should the witnesses appear before the main committee, or right away before the subcommittee? I'm not really clear about any of this, and I'm trying to understand.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

I would take direction from the committee. My proposition would be to discuss it as a whole committee, because there seems to be a lot of interest in it, but I would certainly take direction.

If the entire committee doesn't want to be part of the discussion and would like us to form a subcommittee, I would take direction from you, but my recommendation would be that we discuss it as a whole committee during the second hour on the 29th.

Mr. Savage--

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

Who will be called as a witness, Madam Chair? You said that witnesses would be called. What exactly would we be asking them questions about? Would it be to determine if a study is warranted? What would such a study focus on? That's what I am unclear about.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

I see. Thank you.

I think it would be helpful, Mr. Martin, if you have some suggestions for the committee. We could possibly agree on it and do it right now. We'd then have an idea of who we want to bring in to give us that guidance. I think that's what we're looking for. Would you be able to suggest some witnesses?

Would the committee then be all right with agreeing to the witnesses suggested by Mr. Martin for the 29th?

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

I would like some input. Actually, I think we would be remiss if we didn't hear from others in terms of.... I don't know what the lead organizations are in Quebec, for example, but certainly in the rest of Canada there is the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. I'm sure that there are other groups Mike knows about that we should probably bring in as well, so that we have everybody on board as we move forward. We don't want to leave anybody out and we do not want to offend anybody by not including them. I think there are probably two or three key organizations that need to be here to talk to us about what the priorities should be as we move forward.

I wouldn't want to be the only one submitting names. I would want to hear from Mr. Lessard in terms of Quebec, and from Mike as well, because he's had a long history with the disability community, as, I'm sure, has Mr. Komarnicki.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Again, this isn't actually a discussion as to all of the witnesses we would be talking about in terms of disability. We're just discussing the few we would bring in on March 29 to get us started.

I want to remind everyone that we are public right now. Normally we have these discussions in camera.

Ms. Block, you wanted to say something.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I had the privilege of serving on an all-party committee that was formed last April, the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care. That study involved four pillars and brought in numerous witnesses on suicide, palliative care, disabilities, and elder abuse. I'm thinking that we may want to go back to the members who served on that committee just to get a bit of an understanding of what that committee did and who some of the witnesses who could be brought to this committee are, if in fact we want to continue this way.

Rather than sitting around this table trying to come up with names and throwing them out here today, I would suggest that we come forward with lists and submit them to you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

Yes, I think that's probably the best idea. Maybe we even want to dedicate March 29 to having an in camera discussion on this matter so that we can speak freely, because I think that's important.

Mr. Savage, you wanted to add something.

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

I think there are some obvious people who would be part of that. Tony mentioned the CCD. I would mention the CACL, the Canadian Association for Community Living. I would mention Steve Estey, who has appeared before this committee on a number of occasions on disability issues. He was part of the team that both negotiated and then had a part in ratifying the UN convention on the rights of the disabled. There may be others.

Again, on February 8 I put forward a motion that we establish a subcommittee on the status of persons with disabilities. I want to be clear that it would be a subcommittee of this committee. Ms. Block mentioned the committee on palliative care, which was an all-party caucus more than a subcommittee of another committee. This is different from whatever we call the one with a member from each party. What's that called?

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

It is the steering committee.

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

This has come from the disability community. They felt that when there was a subcommittee for people with disabilities--a subcommittee of this bigger committee--a lot of significant work was done. I still think we need to have that discussion. Let's remember that the idea of doing a study on persons with disabilities is at least one year old, I think, Tony. We just haven't gotten to it. Last spring we brought some of these same people in to give us some ideas. We're just not getting to it, and it needs to be done.

I'm fine with having that discussion on March 29. I certainly would be prepared to give some names of people who could help guide us on what that study should be. I don't think this committee, without talking to people in the disability community, should identify what it is we're going to study. We should listen to them and ask what they think we need to study to help them progress and be a better part of this wealthy country.

[The Chair, Conservative, Candice Bergen]

All right. I think what we should do is dedicate March 29 to having the discussion in camera about whom we would like to bring forward. After that, we would all submit our witnesses, as Ms. Block suggested, but I think that initially we need to have an organizational meeting, and I think it would be good, in this case, for us all to come together, and not just the steering committee.

What we'll do, then, is spend the first hour on that. That should give us some good parameters. Then we'll see about the second hour of March 29. We may have an adoption report ready. I'll keep the committee abreast of where we're at, and we can make a decision on the second hour of March 29.

I think we're finished. Thank you all very much.

The meeting is adjourned.