Status of Women Committee on March 29th, 2007

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Yes, I appreciate Ms. Minna's clarification, but in fact I don't think it addresses.... I think Mr. Stanton has made it pretty clear that the first two reports are actually embedded in the list of reports that the committee has asked for. I'm referring to the third request. Does that report actually exist in the way it's written in the motion?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

It would be clearer if it matched the actual verbiage on the actual list, and Ms. Mathyssen isn't here at this time to address that.

Ms. Neville.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you.

I don't see the problem with moving forward with the three reports. We have doubt about number one and number two. I appreciate that we received something from the department, but we have contrary evidence indicating that it was not going to be completed, so there's no harm in reaffirming it. Then the final one, we have some indication it's not going to be completed or published, and we want to say it should be, so I have no problem with endorsing all three of them.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Mr. Dykstra, and then Ms. Demers.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Are the reports going to be completed or not?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Yes, we do. Just to clarify, I read out during the last meeting the reports, with the working titles, that require revision and will not be completed and one was Integrating the Voices of Low-income Women into Policy Discussions on the Canada Social Transfer: Aboriginal Women in Vancouver, Immigrant and Refugee Women in Calgary and Women with Disabilities in Winnipeg.

Just to clarify what we did last week, we were requested to bring the reports that will be published, the reports that will be printed, the reports that will be posted on the web, and the reports that will require translation before they're posted on the web. Last week we found out we had three reports that were printed and posted on the web and we had five reports that I read out last week that will be posted on the web and require conversion to HTML. Then, the reports that require translation will be posted on the web. There are two of them.

In the last part—this is where the quandary is—the second report, Integrating the Voices of Low-income Women into Policy Discussions, and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women one are apparently the same report, but the minister's office has reported that these reports require revision and will not be completed, so they're a work in progress.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Further to my question, why in the world would you want to publish studies that are not going to be completed? It's just a ridiculous notion. The reports will not be completed, therefore, we're going to ask that the report be published?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

The research has been stopped.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Is that the recommendation the clerk is prepared to make, to support a motion to release reports that are not completed?

The people who are writing these reports are professionals. The last thing they're going to want to do is have their own material released while it's three-quarters, half, one-quarter, 10 pages....

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Can I clarify? These are reports that require revision and will not be completed because they need to be revised.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

I think at the very least, you should ask these professionals, these individuals who committed to write these reports, whether they want their work that is not going to be completed to be released even though it won't be completed in the fashion they would like it completed in. I think, at the very least, you need to ask these folks whether or not they want that.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Ms. Demers.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Rick, that's what these women have asked us to do, that is to say to see that their reports are published. My motion will enable us to give them what they want. Imagine all the knowledge we will acquire. Thanks to these reports and these women, we'll know exactly what women think about a number of subjects. It's simple: the reports have already been done, and some need to be reviewed and corrected, but the research is done. All that's left to do is to publish them. Imagine! You can't be opposed to that idea.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

I certainly am. I would not want my materials--

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Let's call the question. This is actually getting us nowhere.

I have more letters here. Can I read something else into the record? Or is Mr. Dykstra the only one allowed to speak?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Order.

Mr. Stanton, you were next.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Just as a point of clarification, going back to Ms. Minna's point, has Irene's motion been moved at this point?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

No, it has not....

Excuse me; order, please. I'd really like get this wrapped up, if we can. We need to have discussion, not bulldozing.

Mr. Stanton.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Has the motion been moved, first of all?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

The clerk has informed me that it has not been moved as of right now.

Should we have it moved now?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

I moved it earlier. I'll move it again.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Okay.

[Bruce Stanton, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

So it's moved. Okay. That's one part of my question.

Now, I've proposed an amendment, and I've suggested that those first two items really be left out.

I would take the committee back to our discussions on this. Ms. Mathyssen brought an original motion because of the correspondence that she had received. Having not received anything back from the minister, she brought this motion to compel the committee to go through the motion process, to bring a report, to compel these reports to be produced.

There was a discussion on that. To my recollection, we undertook to get some answers to those very questions. And voilà, we have the answers. What we have here is a report from the department that outlines the specific status of the reports that were in question, the list. In fact, two of the reports that were in question, that Ms. Mathyssen has clarified through her motion, were here.

I would simply say...and I take it full well that the one report on here is in the category of not planning to be published. Fine, let's put it on there. But we have, in good faith, the report from the department that these things are in process. I see no need...and this is why I bring the amendment.

I would suggest, Madam Chair, that you put the question to the committee if we want to get on with this. I put the amendment on the floor. Let's vote on it.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Just to clarify, are you calling for a vote on the amendment? You are? Okay.

[The Clerk]

Mr. Stanton, perhaps I could just ask you to clarify something before the vote. You are moving the amendment that what part of the text be deleted? Perhaps you would read out the part that you would like deleted.