Evidence of meeting #116 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Shall the bill carry?
We'll have a recorded vote on the carrying of the bill.
(Bill C-322 agreed to: yeas 6; nays 5)
Shall the chair report the bill to the House?
(Reporting of bill to the House agreed to: yeas 7; nays 4)
It has been my practice, but I need the direction of the committee. Is it agreed that MP Cormier present the report on Bill C-322 to the House that has been adopted by the majority?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
There's consensus on Mr. Cormier's reporting the bill to the House.
Members, we're going to suspend for a few moments to....
Mrs. Gray.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
While we have just a little more time here, I would like to give verbal notice of the following motion:
Given that, a recent report from the Salvation Army indicates that:
1. nearly a third of Canadians continue to feel pessimistic about the future of their personal finances; 2. one in four Canadians continue to be extremely concerned about having enough income to cover their basic needs; 3. Canadians’ extreme concerns about the cost of living continue and are not subsiding; 4. about one in 10 Canadians continue to be extremely concerned about basic human needs, such as shelter and food, or being affected by a natural disaster or emergency; 5. mental and physical wellbeing continue to be an extreme concern among roughly one in three Canadians, as is being able to afford activities they want to do; 6. three in four Canadians continue to face food security challenges, with nominal upward trends. This wave, more have skipped or reduced the size of at least one meal because they couldn’t afford groceries; 7. among those who accessed a food bank in the last year, over half (61%) were first-time users; 8. nearly one in three Canadians faced challenges managing limited financial resources in the past year, with nominal upward trends across all challenges; 9. over half of Canadians faced issues impacting their health, increasing Canadians’ deprioritization of medical expenses due to costs; 10. the number of Canadians facing housing security challenges has increased, with more needing to move in with family because they can’t afford housing or were living in unsuitable housing conditions; 11. and while many feel they can meet their financial needs in the next 12 months, over three-quarters are stressed out about the increase of the cost of living; that the committee recognize and report to the House that Canada is facing a rapidly worsening affordability, housing, and food insecurity crisis and, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(a),
that the committee invite the Minister of Finance and officials, as well as representatives from the Salvation Army to appear before the committee to testify in relation to these findings, as soon as possible, for no less than two hours each, and that the committee find additional resources if necessary to facilitate this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am giving verbal notice that I will be bringing this forward. In particular, considering that today we were talking about food costs and food insecurity and how families are struggling to afford to feed themselves, I think this is really appropriate at this time. The numbers and the comments that came out of the report from the Salvation Army were quite shocking.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you, Ms. Gray.
Ms. Ferreri, go ahead, and then it will be Madame Chabot.
Conservative
Michelle Ferreri Conservative Peterborough—Kawartha, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would also like to give verbal notice of a motion:
Given that a recent report from Food Banks Canada indicates that
a. Canada has reached a critical turning point as poverty and food insecurity worsen in every corner of the country; b. nearly half of Canadians feel financially worse-off compared to last year; c. one in four 4 Canadians is experiencing food insecurity; and d. 33.3% of Canadians are experiencing an inadequate standard of living, while 23.7% of Canadians are experiencing a severely inadequate standard of living; e. and, that Food Banks Canada has graded the federal government’s commitment to addressing this crisis as a D,
that the committee recognizes, and reports to the House that Canada is facing a rapidly worsening affordability, and food insecurity crisis, and, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(a), the committee invite the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and officials, as well as representatives from Food Banks Canada to appear before the committee to testify in relation to these findings, as soon as possible, for no less than two hours each, and that the committee find additional resources if necessary to facilitate this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for letting me put that on verbal notice.
We are the Standing Committee on Human Resources and Social Development. This is a critical issue across the country right now. It is our duty as elected officials to do everything we can to have these tough conversations to ensure that people are able to eat.
This is dire. I don't know what else to say other than that word. I got to co-sponsor the breakfast and launch of the report card from Food Banks Canada. Not one NDP member was there. I think this is a great opportunity for us to actually do this, to figure out what we can do in terms of making life more affordable. It's pretty shocking in Canada when we can't afford to feed our kids and ourselves.
I appreciate that, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Liberal
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
On a completely different note, before we take a few minutes, I would have liked instructions on dissenting or supplementary opinions on the bill that was just passed by the committee. I imagine the clerk will let us know.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you, Madame Chabot.
You are correct. It is the directive of the committee to put a timeline on that. I'll ask the clerk to speak to it.
The Clerk
Yes, supplementary and dissenting opinions can be attached to any report that the committee presents to the House. The committee would need to determine a deadline that it would want to impose on itself for accepting dissenting and supplementary opinions.
Because the committee requested an extension from the House.... Technically the 60 sitting day deadline was on Monday, but with the extension, the committee has an additional 30 sitting days.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Is it the wish of the committee to pick a date to deal with the issue that Madame Chabot has raised?
What's your suggestion, Madam Clerk?
Let's look at the calendar.
The Clerk
There is flexibility. If the committee wants the report to be presented to the House next week, then perhaps it could be next Wednesday at the end of the day, or next Friday at the end of the day. That would allow the report to be presented during the week of June 10.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Do we have agreement on next Friday as the deadline for submitting dissenting reports?
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
I agree.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and Madam Clerk.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Could the clerk provide some instructions on that? It's a little different with a private member's bill than perhaps with a study.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
You are correct, Ms. Gray. The clerk will circulate the decision the committee made on the timeline as well as the instructions to clearly come back to the committee.
If there isn't anything further, I'm going to suspend for a few moments to move briefly in camera to conclude a discussion that was suspended on Monday when we lost interpretation.
We'll suspend for five minutes.
[Proceedings continue in camera]