Status of Women committee  In terms of what you just said about valuing women, countries like Canada have a role to play, do they not, in terms of making a clear statement that women matter--their equality, their equity, their ability to play a part in the economy and be leaders matter? We need to do that in order to have any substance at all, in terms of what we say at meetings, to have that kind of credibility.

Status of Women committee  Again, it's going to depend on the country. The last maternal mortality audit figures for South Africa made it clear that HIV/AIDS was the most common cause of death, except that it's an indirect cause of death. What that really means is that it's not a primary cause. Women might die of something else, but they were HIV positive and had AIDS.

Status of Women committee  Shaw, because I'm using this document, but please, I welcome input from all three, with any of these questions. In one of the first slides it is very clear that improved maternal health has been the least addressed issue in terms of the millennium development goals, and you said the most neglected. Now, Ms. Sheffield, you suggested that it was because there hadn't been much investment here.

Government Operations committee  So we rely on “let the buyer beware”. I just want to be clear.

Fisheries committee  This would obviously be with a view to helping us more, because as I will repeat, the situation is much less clear to us than it is to you. Not having any formal training as a biologist, all I can really rely on is my own common sense. Therefore, could you be of more assistance to us, rather than answering in the way that you have until now?

Status of Women committee  It's right out there, as we have committed to this and to these kinds of agreements for many, many years. It's very clear what this means in terms of a full range of comprehensive reproductive and sexual health services. Without that comprehensive range of services, we can't promote women and children's health.

Government Operations committee  Is that clear enough? Okay, let's carry on. The next meeting that is open and that hasn't yet been designated is the May 26 meeting. Is this the meeting where there would be full agreement to bring the PBO forward?

Government Operations committee  --clear enough for the clerk to proceed.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  Mr. Speaker, the issue is very clear to me. The government is proposing to spend millions of dollars building more prisons and youth detention centres, and investing in prison guards because it has created a culture and climate of fear as opposed to investing in schools, community centres, community activists, community organizers and people to reach out to young people and empower them.

Government Operations committee  I appreciate that Mr. Holder. I wasn't as clear about that--and there are heads nodding--so I think that's what we'll task the clerk to do.

Sébastien's Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders)  The fact of the matter is that when we talk about victims of crime, yes, we have tremendous empathy. I was very clear that I have nothing but admiration for the tremendous work Sébastien's parents have done in promoting the rights of victims and help for victims of crime. However, the Conservatives politicize it to that extent and at the same time remove their support for victims of crime.

Human Resources committee  So we are saying that during the 52 weeks preceding the dispute, the worker must have been employed by the company in order to be considered to have been laid off when the employer shut down. It happened three years later, in this case. I am not sure whether that is clear. At first, we did not think we needed to specify that, but, in light of what some witnesses pointed out, we think it might be open to interpretation otherwise. So we think it should be included in the bill.

Human Resources committee  To be safe, though, it may be preferable to move an amendment that makes the intent of the bill perfectly clear. I will hand out an amendment. We have begun discussing Bill C-395, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (labour dispute), is that right?

Request for Emergency Debate  I wrote to you earlier today to seek leave for an emergency debate on the topic of safety and regulation of the offshore oil and gas drilling industry in Canada. The specifics and need for the emergency debate are clear. Canadians and the rest of the world have seen the horrors, as the Prime Minister referred to today, of the environmental disaster that is happening in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Almost one million litres of oil are spewing up from the seabed floor onto the coast of New Orleans and other places across the coast.

Petitions  This of course warms my heart because this is my bill. It will come up for debate this week in the House. In essence, the bill would make clear that the government has a responsibility to Canadians to protect the environment for health, well-being and sustainability. Second, it has a responsibility to give citizens the right to call the government, and industry, to account if it does not take the appropriate action in law to protect the environment.