Evidence of meeting #145 for Status of Women in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Nancy Gardiner  Assistant Deputy Minister, Department for Women and Gender Equality
Lisa Smylie  Director General, Research, Results and Delivery, Results and Delivery Unit, Department for Women and Gender Equality
Danielle Bélanger  Director, GBA Plus, Policy and External Relations, Department for Women and Gender Equality

9:25 a.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Thank you, Minister.

I will be specific and maybe ask you in the future, if you're not able to answer today, specifically what trade mission women will be involved in as an all-women trade mission—

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Sure.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

—and ask you to report back to this committee before the end of this session.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

I'll send you a note with any details I can get.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Well, actually to the committee. That would be fabulous.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Absolutely.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Second, will the program “It Starts with One” be re-enacted? It has a specific branding and I think it has been very successful. I think it's important.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

I'm not familiar with it, but I will look into it.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

No problem. Thank you very much.

Next I have one quick comment, and then I'll turn my time over to my colleague. With respect to a mandate letter, I think it would be highly appropriate if that letter were released to this committee. We as a committee have a responsibility to be responsive to that mandate letter, and not seeing it and not knowing its details puts us at a disadvantage. I would kindly ask you and the public servants involved to make it and those details available to this committee, please.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

The letter is available online.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Excellent. Thank you very—

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

Point of order.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Thank you.

Rachael, you have the floor.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

Just to correct the record, there is no mandate letter available online. As per an ATIP that I submitted, the mandate letter actually doesn't exist.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

It does.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

It does not with regards to the new department that was formed on December 13, 2018.

Therefore, I move “That the committee invite the Minister for Women and Gender Equality to brief the committee on her new mandate, given that Status of Women Canada has changed to the Department for Women and Gender Equality, and that the minister appear no later than Thursday, June 13, 2019, and that this meeting be no less than one hour in length, and that it be televised.”

As the minister stated earlier, she'd be happy to take these questions with regards to her new mandate. Unfortunately, that conversation didn't take place today, and so I would very much like the minister to be given a second opportunity to come back to talk specifically with regard to her new mandate and what that looks like to us as a committee and our function in order to serve that.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha, ON

Madam Chair, I just pulled it up. It's online.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

Excuse me.

Salma, you have a comment.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Are we voting on this motion?

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

The motion on the floor right now is debatable and amendable. Because this this motion just presented, everything else ceases. We're on this motion. It's a debatable motion. It's amendable, so if there are any comments—

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Can we please adjourn the debate on this?

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

We would have to take it to a vote.

I'll take Kellie's comments....

Salma's asking for it to go to a vote.

9:30 a.m.

Liberal

Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Can we please adjourn the debate?

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio

I just have to confirm this. Because your motion is a non-debatable, non-dilatory motion, we will go directly to the vote.

All those in favour of adjourning the debate?

(Motion agreed to)

The floor remains. Since I stopped the clock, you have one minute, Ms. Harder.

9:30 a.m.

Conservative

Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB

Thank you.

I would again highlight the efforts of the Liberal party and its members to shut down any sort of discourse that would take place with regard to this new mandate. I'm confused by it. This motion is quite simple. It's asking the minister to come forward and talk about the new departments, and it's—