Status of Women Committee on Dec. 1st, 2009

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

If we agree to this and you want it to be a proper.... The amendment is passed anyway, so that it would be an expanded thing. It won't take one meeting. We can announce that we're going to study this in the new year, etc., and then decide when that's going to happen.

I just wanted you to know that we have two weeks of meetings on non-traditional work to put to bed. Then we can start this one up, if you choose.

I just want to call the motion.

Are you speaking to the motion as amended?

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

I do not know any more, Madam Chair. I just want to reply to what you said.

Since it is Ms. McLeod who moved the original motion and since she is the one who wanted us to continue and finish the study on work place non-traditional roles immediately after the Holidays, it would be up to her to decide if this one should be done before the one on non-traditional roles. She should decide what priority she wants to give to these two subjects. Indeed, if we start later, this could carry us very far down the road, until the month of March. So I think we should ask Ms. McLeod what her prorities are.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

As we have shifted from different topics, I, more than anyone, have been thinking that we have put energy into coming up with our work plan. We are very close. To me, this is a very critical topic, and I'm really glad we're doing it. I didn't want to propose a full study. I'm quite pleased with the amendment that creates a bigger study. Why don't we finish off workplace non-traditional roles and then take as many meetings as we need to really do a proper job?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Okay.

Ms. Mathyssen, is this on the motion as amended?

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Yes, Madam Chair.

I appreciate what Madame Demers said with regard to perhaps prioritizing the study or the examination of violence against women or aboriginal women, but I don't want to lose sight of the plan that we have to look at the change of language at DFAIT. That is the logical extension of violence against women because it pertains to the international scene and Canada's role or responsibility to women in other countries.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Having used the language “including but not limited to” here, it means that you could expand that to DFAIT if you wished, because “not limited to” gives you a certain amount of room.

I really would like to put an end to this discussion and move to the motion.

Cathy, you will end debate.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

We have a lot to focus on within the aboriginal community within Canada and violence against women within the aboriginal community. That will be comprehensive in itself.

Again, I appreciate the support and I appreciate the amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

That's good. I'll call the vote.

(Motion as amended agreed to)

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Nicole, your hand came up just a little too late there, but it is unanimous. Thank you. This will happen in the new year.

I just want to tell you a couple of things. Given that we have only three more meetings, as you know, you're going to be getting your report on pensions on Wednesday, and we will be discussing the report on Thursday and possibly on Friday. We are looking at spending one hour on the trafficking this Thursday. That's going to take an hour off our work, and we wanted to finish this report, table it, and have this dealt with by Thursday, because we're rising and everyone agreed that they wanted this done by Thursday.

Let me tell you what it's going to look like this coming Thursday. From 3:30 to 4:30, we have the minister coming to speak to supplementary estimates and GBA. That's one hour. We have from 4:30 to 5:30 to deal with the beginning of the 25 pages of the report. That's this coming Thursday.

On Tuesday, December 8, we're going to deal for one hour with the Olympics and human trafficking. Then we have one hour to deal with ending our report and with our recommendations.

I'm putting this to you because I want to seek your wisdom as a committee on how you want to use your time. It may very well be that one of these meetings is going to have to be extended by an hour if we're going to make it happen, because we will need to have this thing ready and done on Thursday morning.

Okay, the votes have started, so I'm just letting you know this. Maybe you can think about it, and next week when we meet, you can decide if you want an extra hour in the meeting at some point.

Also, just quickly before you go, a survivor of human trafficking has written to us and has said that she wants to come and present. She wants 10 to 15 minutes. If we add one more person to that one hour, there's no way we'll finish it. I don't know if you want to just stick with the original motion and not expand it. My belief is that if we expand it to one person, we're going to have to expand it to all the others.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Madam Chair, if she is a survivor, she certainly has important things to tell us.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Then you're going to have to decide to do another meeting. I'm sorry, but you're on extra time. Think about it and talk about it when we come back.

The meeting is adjourned.