I have a brief opening statement, but before that, I want to share my perspective on the committee. I've served in public life for a long period of time, with colleagues of different political stripes. I always respect the fact that colleagues are elected by the people in their respective ridings, and while we may not always agree on policy, you have to respect the fact that they were elected by the people in their riding to be their voice here in the Parliament of Canada and in the committee.

I have a great tolerance for disagreement and differences of opinion, but at the end of the day, the work of the government must proceed. My expectation is flexible, but the work of the committee must proceed. I'm looking forward to the debate in this committee. I've sat on it before—for a number of years—and have enjoyed the very human issues that this committee is charged with dealing with, and to those new members coming in, I think you'll find that a very rewarding part of this committee.

I have to acknowledge my colleague from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound. You replaced my good friend, Mr. Miller. He and I sat together and became very good friends. You could say that we didn't share a lot politically, but he was a fine gentleman and somebody I grew to respect a lot.

As I said, this is the first meeting of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021.

Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. The webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.

Today's meeting is also taking place in the webinar format. Webinars are for the public committee meetings and are available only to members, their staff and witnesses. Members enter immediately as active participants. All functionalities for active participants remain the same. Staff will be non-active participants and can therefore only view the meeting in gallery view.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all participants to this meeting that screenshots or taking photos of your screen is not permitted.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in light of the recommendations from health authorities, as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, all those attending the meeting in person are to maintain two-metre physical distancing and must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is highly recommended that masks be worn at all times, including when seated. You must maintain proper hand hygiene by using the provided hand sanitizer at the room entrance. As the chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting. I thank members in advance for their co-operation.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow. For members participating on Zoom, you may speak in the official language of your choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French. If the interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we will ensure interpretation is properly restored before resuming the meeting.

For members participating on Zoom, the “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or to alert the chair. For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in a committee room.

Before speaking, please wait until you're recognized by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphone will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. All comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.

With regard to a speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do the best we can to maintain a consolidated order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person.

Now we have to deal with routine motions. With the agreement of the committee, we can proceed to the consideration of routine motions. The committee clerk has circulated a list of the routine motions that the committee adopted in the last Parliament.

As a reminder, a motion must be moved by a committee member, and it is easier to consider them one by one.

Mr. Long.

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

Chair, with respect to routine motions, I'm ready to begin. Are we good to go?

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Yes, go ahead

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

I move:

That the committee retain, as needed and at the discretion of the Chair, the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament to assist it in its work.

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Does the committee agree to adopt the motion?

(Motion agreed to)

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

I move:

That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be established and be composed of five members; the Chair, one member from each recognized party; and that the subcommittee work in a spirit of collaboration.

(Motion agreed to)

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Do we have agreement to invite the analyst to sit at the table?

11:15 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Welcome, Ms. Lafontaine‑Émond.

I'll ask the analyst to introduce herself to the committee.

11:20 a.m.

Isabelle Lafontaine-Émond Committee Researcher

Hello, everyone. I'm Isabelle Lafontaine-Émond from the Library of Parliament.

I'm happy to be here. I've served on this committee before. I am here if you have any content-related questions.

Thank you.

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

Mr. Long, please continue.

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

I move:

That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive evidence and to have that evidence published when a quorum is not present, provided that at least four members are present, including two members of the opposition parties and two members of the government party, but when travelling outside the Parliamentary Precinct, that the meeting begin after 15 minutes, regardless of members present.

(Motion agreed to)

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

I move:

That witnesses be given five minutes for their opening statement; that whenever possible, witnesses provide the committee with their opening statement 72 hours in advance; that at the discretion of the Chair, during the questioning of witnesses, there be allocated six minutes for the first questioner of each party as follows for the first round: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party. For the second and subsequent rounds, the order and time for questioning be as follows: Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes; Bloc Québécois, two and a half minutes; New Democratic Party, two and a half minutes; Conservative Party, five minutes; Liberal Party, five minutes.

(Motion agreed to)

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

We'll go to the next one, Mr. Long.

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB

I move:

That only the clerk of the committee be authorized to distribute documents to members of the committee provided the documents are in both official languages, and that the witnesses be advised accordingly.

(Motion agreed to)

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey

The next one is very important.