Evidence of meeting #41 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 benefit.
A video is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
We could pass a bill where everything is supposed to happen through regulations. Then, at some point down the line, something happens and everything falls through. People may rejoice at the thought of a program like this being implemented, but it will possibly not see the light of day anytime soon.
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
I understand your concerns.
In budget 2021, we set aside $12,000 over a three-year horizon.
We are well within that timeline, I would suggest. All the work we've done to date leads me to believe that we will be able to deliver on that timeline. As we work through, I think we'll find there will be things that we thought might be a little harder that end up being easy, that we all agree on and we move forward. Then we might have to work a little harder in some areas. However, I remain superconfident that we are going to get this past the finish line through the process we've established.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you, Madame Chabot.
We now go to Madam Zarrillo for two and a half minutes.
NDP
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just want to go back to a couple of things the minister said. One is that I just want to get some confirmation here. We are on a timeline. I know the technical staff last week couldn't commit to any kind of a timeline, but what I'm hearing today is that it's a 12-month timeline from when this bill begins its regulation process. Could I just get some confirmation on that, please?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
As I said, that's my best guess, but it's 12 months-ish because processes take as long as they take to get things right. Based on how long other processes have taken, that's the best number I can give you, yes.
NDP
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Minister, you mentioned that Bill C-22 consultations were wide and vast. I'm just wondering why that didn't make it into the bill. That's my first question. Then I have one quick question after that.
Liberal
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
The Bill C-22 wider consultation.... Why didn't that consultation make it into the bill, even around the eligibility factor, which the disability community is widely agreed on, and other...?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
I would say two quick things about that.
First of all, there was a conscious choice to keep going down this path of framework legislation coupled with regulatory process on details when we retabled the law in 2021. That was in response to a lot of the work we had done with the community. It felt like...and I stand by the decision to keep going with that same approach.
Absolutely, everything we have heard, leading back to the Accessible Canada Act negotiations, quite frankly, puts us in such a great position to hit the ground running once the regulatory process.... It will all be fed in. It's being analyzed. Reports are being given to us. With regard to the community-led engagement piece, I think the wrap-up report is next month. The indigenous-led piece is ongoing. There's a lot of work going on. We are not starting from scratch. That work will all feed into it.
NDP
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Thank you, Minister.
Can I please, then, just ask for those reports? We had those questions last week, and the technical staff was not as forthcoming that there was actually analysis done and that there are reports done. We would like to see as much of that information in the background as we can get to make a decision around this table.
Lastly, I just want to ask a question about co-creation, this “nothing without us” idea. Where in the bill is it ensuring that co-creation will happen?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
The “nothing without us” is in the preamble. It's baked into the Accessible Canada Act, which has a set of, I think, nine guiding principles that the government is supposed to be implementing across law and across policy and programming and service delivery. The preamble references, as I said, the UNCRPD—one of the specific ACA principles that laws, services, programs and policies have to be developed with the community of persons with disability—
NDP
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
I understand, Minister.
I'm sorry I'm going to have to cut you off, but just in the legislation, where is the spot on co-creation?
NDP
Bonita Zarrillo NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
If the minister could send us a written answer to where co-creation is in the legislation, that would be great.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Okay. Thank you.
Madam Gray, you are next, for five minutes, please.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, the legislation is intended for working-age persons, yet working age is not defined anywhere in the bill. What is the definition of working age?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
That is something that was purposely put in there to reflect the gap in support between the CCB, to which there is a disability supplement that ends at age 18 or 19—I apologize, I can never remember—and the OAS and GIS, which start at 65.
Again, we chose the term “working-age” Canadians because that seemed to reflect that gap.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
For clarification, though, how will that play out as you determine what the regulations are? Why not put some type of a definition in there, even if you don't have the specific ages, as an example of what that actually means? Why would that be left out of the legislation?
It's very confusing to people. It's a question that we get quite often, and we're not sure how to answer it. When it's not actually in the legislation, then people will be looking to the regulations. It all just seems very confusing to a lot of people.
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
I appreciate that.
My answer remains the same. We chose that term so as to reflect the time between being a teenager, getting CCB, and getting OAS and GIS. That was the term we chose to go with.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Is that something that will be determined as you go through the regulations, then? Will that definition be coming out during the regulations?
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Is that something you're committing to do? Like I said, I know it's something that's very confusing to a lot of people.