Human Resources Committee on Feb. 7th, 2022

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Okay. It reads as follows:

“That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study on: a) the financial challenges persons with disabilities face and how a benefit administered by the federal government, similar to the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors, would reduce poverty among working age Canadians with disabilities; b) the challenges persons with disabilities encounter when dealing with the federal government, how the government can improve access to federal programs and services for persons with disabilities and ensure that disability inclusion is considered in all government programs, policies and services; c) barriers to employment faced by persons with disabilities and measures the federal government can undertake to implement a robust employment strategy; and d) steps the Government of Canada can undertake to improve the social and economic inclusion of Canadians with disabilities; that the committee hold a minimum of eight meetings; that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.”

Chair, I just want to say that this is something that is very, very important to me personally. We in this office deal regularly with the challenges that persons with disabilities face, their barriers to employment and the struggles they have. I know that previously we've had some wonderful witnesses at HUMA. Mark Wafer from Tim Hortons would be one. Randy Lewis from Walgreens would be another one. They talked about what they did in terms of employment.

This is an area in which this committee could really have a big impact on government policy.

I thank you, Chair, and hopefully the members of this committee will agree with me on how important this motion is.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Madam Chabot, you have the floor.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I imagine we'll agree in principle on the challenges that persons with disabilities encounter in employment and many other areas as well. I would nevertheless like to raise two points.

First, as the motion is quite long, I'd like to know whether it could be provided to us in writing so we can see what it entails.

Second, I'm trying to understand how this motion is related to the fact that the minister is currently working on an action plan for persons with disabilities. We could hear what she has to say when she appears to address these issues. Under her mandate, a new allowance similar to the guaranteed income supplement is being planned to support those individuals. These initiatives, which are part of the work the minister is doing, are currently in the works.

In short, could someone provide us with the motion in writing and, more particularly, tell us how these items are related to what the government already has on the table?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Madame Chabot.

The clerk is circulating the motion. You should have it shortly.

Now I'll go to Madam Kusie on the motion.

[Stephanie Kusie, Calgary Midnapore, CPC]

I certainly think that we could be in support of this motion. It's certainly very important and relevant to our society, especially in the evolving pandemic environment and, hopefully, coming out of the pandemic.

My only concern would be where we prioritize it. I believe that there are other studies that we have already approved and that would take priority over this one. However, we certainly could support this, recognizing that once we have tackled more pressing issues, we could turn to this one, Mr. Chair.

I thank Mr. Long for putting this motion forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Madam Kusie.

I have Mr. Long.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

One thing I wanted to say here is that, yes, it's no secret that our government campaigned on support for persons with disabilities, but I think we have a wonderful opportunity here as a committee to really have solid input to make any legislation that much more comprehensive and effective for persons with disabilities.

I welcome the opportunity to bring witnesses in and talk to people with that lived experience to really strengthen any legislation that we move forward with.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Long.

Madame Zarrillo, you requested the floor.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I just want to say that I'm fully supportive of this. I'm really happy to see that it's a lot more expansive than the motion I put on the floor. I really appreciate this.

There is one thing that I wanted to ask for specifically. I'm looking at the corporate strategy document for CMHC for housing for 2021-25. The aspirational statement says, “By 2030, everyone in Canada has a home that they can afford and that meets their needs.”

Under “focus”, it says, “Understand needs of Canadians who are vulnerable,” and under “outcomes”, it says, “People who are vulnerable have reliable access to secure and affordable housing.”

I would ask the mover if they would be open to an amendment to just call out the fact that we need to start tracking accessible housing for persons with disabilities. I had an Order Paper request recently around tracking accessible housing in Canada. Unfortunately, we don't do a thorough job of that. In fact, there are many gaps in understanding how many units of accessible housing are available to Canadians and what's potentially being decommissioned in the gentrification of many of our neighbourhoods.

I'd just ask if the mover would be open to calling out, or at least tracking accessible housing.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

I would, most definitely. We would certainly look at a friendly amendment here. I would agree with MP Zarrillo that it is absolutely something that is needed. I'd certainly be open to an amendment on that, yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Before I go to Mr. Ruff, Madam Zarrillo, are you going to move an amendment?

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I would like to. I just need to pop open the email that has the motion in it. I'll read it and then I'll.... I would also welcome comments from anyone else on how they think that could be done.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Now we're going to Mr. Ruff on the motion.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Chair, I have no real issue with the motion, and moving ahead we'll figure out where it fits in the priorities. I know we won't get to it before the next budget, but I just want to acknowledge for the Liberal MPs on the committee and for those who face disabilities, how important having the support through the different programs is—things like the Ready, Willing and Able labour force inclusion program, and seeing the aspects of that moving forward. I'm hoping that everybody can have discussions about that as pre-budget consultations go on. I think it's important to discuss that program and how it can move forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Ruff.

Mr. Van Bynen, go ahead on the motion.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With respect to the motion, I'm wondering if the scope will be able to capture the relationship between federal and provincial support programs. I know that in some provinces, if the federal deduction creates more revenues for people who have disabilities, then the provincial programs reduce that amount.

Is that considered to be part of the scope of this discussion? Is that the intent, that we would capture that or at least understand what that is about?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mr. Van Bynen, that will be at the discretion of the committee as it discusses the motion, if the motion is voted on and accepted by the committee.

Have all committee members received the main motion? Everybody has.

Yes, Mr. Long.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Ms. Zarrillo needed a few minutes to work on her amendment, so I would suggest maybe we just take a three-minute break here to let her come up with the amendment she wants to table.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

What's the wish of the committee? Is everybody in agreement that we suspend for three minutes?

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Long. The committee will suspend for three minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

The committee is back in session.

Madam Zarrillo, do you have your amendment prepared?

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I do, and I just want to thank members of the support team here today for the collaborative effort for the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Madam Zarrillo, could you just read it slowly into the record, so that it gets translated?

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

All right. After point (b), after the semicolon after “services”, add “including but not limited to affordable housing programs”.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

The committee has heard the amendment by Madam Zarrillo.

Before we went into suspension, Madame Ferrada, you had your hand up. Did you want to speak to the amendment? You have the floor.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We just want to support Ms. Zarrillo's amendment. This is indeed a major problem. We must have a record of what's being done on housing, and we're very pleased to be able to support the amendment.