Evidence of meeting #32 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was non-market.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
One thing I want to be clear on is that before it gets to that stage, I will advise the clerk to set up the briefing meeting. That was discussed. That was agreed to, as requested by Ms. Goodridge. As chair, I will give you my commitment that the bill will not get to report stage—
Conservative
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK
Do you have to present it the next time the House—
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Until I as chair present it, it doesn't get there, but it's a valid point and a good process. We will do a technical briefing in camera on the technical parts.
With that, thank you so much, committee members.
Thank you, Mr. Beech.
Mr. Richards, I understand you had pursued this issue some time ago. Thank you for that.
Thank you to all the staff of committee members. This was a committee process.
We also heard from witnesses. I want to thank them for appearing before this committee and for being so candid with the really heart-wrenching testimony they gave to this committee.
To everybody, yes, it's time that the government gets this done.
Ms. Koutrakis.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll try to get through this without getting emotional. I'm incredibly proud of the work we all did here. I know it was very frustrating. It was frustrating to me as well. I just wanted to make sure we didn't stumble inadvertently. This was a difficult challenge.
I want to reach across the way and thank all my colleagues. Thank you to our colleague the Honourable Mr. Beech for all the hard work. Thank you to the officials who work behind the scenes to make sure we get this right. I'm very grateful for the work.
Thank you, Mr. Richards, for being a strong advocate for this bill. We need to get this right, and we need to get it to the parents who need it.
On behalf of the government, I just want to say thank you. I'm really happy we're going forward with this.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Larouche, for your hard work and the conversations we've had. It is a privilege to work with everyone here to do the right thing.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Again, thank you for this, everyone.
I'll leave the final comments to Mr. Richards, if he wants to make some, and then Mr. Beech as the promoter.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Airdrie—Cochrane, AB
I'll simply say that parents have waited for this for a long time. It's the right thing to do. It's the compassionate thing to do. We've heard during this study and in past studies why it's so critically important that this happen. I think this is an example of something where everyone has the right goal in mind. Despite some of the challenges it took over the years to get to the point where we could all work together on this, I'm thrilled that it's happening. It's an example of what we can do when that happens. I hope it's something we see more of as we move forward. I know that the parents and the families certainly will be better off.
I'll just remind everyone that the work's not quite done yet. We have to keep committed and we have to move as quickly as we can, because parents have waited too long already.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you so much, Mr. Richards.
We'll give the final word to Mr. Beech.
Liberal
Terry Beech Liberal Burnaby North—Seymour, BC
I'd just like to give a big thank you to everyone, including my colleague Mr. Richards. To everyone, this would not proceed in this very unprecedented way without a certain level of trust. I think that trust is here because of how important the issue is that we're discussing. You know, we're facing a lot of difficult things in this country. We all go back during the election and represent our relative parties, but at the end of the day, we're all on team Canada, and this was a team Canada thing.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you so much.
Is it the will of the committee to adjourn? Please say yes.