Status of Women committee  I'm also very glad to see others here today from Status of Women, Treasury Board, and...the champions, of course. It's very clear to me that there is a significant process in place in regard to what we hope to achieve, specifically that policies and programs be gender-sensitive. It would seem, however, that there may be political will missing.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This motion is extremely brief and I hope clear. You'll see that the motion in question does not contain the usual reference, “and that we report to the House.” I know that the motion will raise questions with regard to our committee's mandate, if we ever report to the House.

Agriculture committee  Since most quotas are openly traded, the quota price captures the value of future profits associated with producing a good, the supply of which is restrained by the quota system rather than by the market clearing price. People can invest money freely, and because all investors are searching for the best and most profitable returns, the rate of return on alternative investments tends to even out over time.

Status of Women committee  My interpretation, incidentally, of gender-based analysis in very recent years is that progress has been made. There is further progress to be made, as I think is clear from our discussion here, but I think that central agencies are playing a role in that. As champion for the Privy Council Office, I would say that certainly in the area of domestic policy, beginning with social but also in the area of economic, we are making progress.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Pacetti. I don't have any further speakers, so I'll just read this out to be clear: The Finance Committee requests that the Department of Finance immediately study the effectiveness of the following amendments and other related options to the Income Tax Act and report those findings back to the Finance Committee by August 31, 2009.

Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Previously, the law in Peru required a two-thirds majority in congress to authorize any land sales from these communally held lands. However, decree 1015 lowered this requirement to a simple majority in a clear attempt to encourage those kinds of sales and subsequent exploitation of the land by foreign and domestic entrepreneurs. That is one of the key changes that came about, despite the agreement between the United States and Peru.

Human Resources committee  The need to make emergency funding available to the agencies that are feeding, clothing, sheltering, and counseling the victims of the recession is clear and pressing. Governments need to respond to the reality that demand is growing and non-government funding is falling. Even if the shovel-ready projects that Michael Shapcott was talking about begin, it's going to take several years to make any real impact on people requiring housing.

Public Safety committee  Okay. Well, we'll maybe investigate this. Thank you very much. We have to clear this room at 11 o'clock, and I have notice of a motion, so we want to thank you very much. We're going to suspend for a very brief moment and move into the last part of our meeting for five minutes.

Public Safety committee  Let's take 30 seconds, if we can just switch over here. Okay, let's draw ourselves back together. We have to clear the room in four and a half minutes. We're going into the business of the committee portion of the meeting. Mr. Holland, please.

Public Safety committee  There's a more specific definition with respect to how you define mental illnesses. It can be very narrowly defined or broadly defined. Because there is not such a clear definition, there's certainly recognition that, given that the numbers have increased so dramatically, the services provided to those inmates have not matched that increase over the last decade.

Finance committee  Last week we had most of the major banks here talking about what they think of this issue. One of the things I heard loud and clear from them is that they're receiving no complaints. Although the RCC, the Retail Council of Canada, has 250,000 members who are bringing forward the “Stop Sticking It To Us” campaign, the CFIB has 2.4 million businesses that they support, and f those, 97% percent are under 50 employees, and they're hearing no complaints on the side of business.

Industry committee  Last week we had most of the major banks here talking about what they think of this issue. One of the things I heard loud and clear from them is that they're receiving no complaints. Although the RCC, the Retail Council of Canada, has 250,000 members who are bringing forward the “Stop Sticking It To Us” campaign, the CFIB has 2.4 million businesses that they support, and f those, 97% percent are under 50 employees, and they're hearing no complaints on the side of business.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We will be receiving the “authorities” from the Department following today's meeting. Other than the hypothetical possibility that the 2% will be done away with, what clear education-related questions would you like us to ask them in order to arrive at quick solutions?

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to our guests for coming. I'll start with Mr. Scott. Just so I'm clear, obviously you're in favour of competition. If you're an independent grocery business, obviously you're keen on competition, because there's a lot of it out there. Your basic premise to us on the debit side is that you're not concerned with Visa and MasterCard entering the marketplace as long as the rules are that they are at fixed costs, not percentages.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to our guests for coming. I'll start with Mr. Scott. Just so I'm clear, obviously you're in favour of competition. If you're an independent grocery business, obviously you're keen on competition, because there's a lot of it out there. Your basic premise to us on the debit side is that you're not concerned with Visa and MasterCard entering the marketplace as long as the rules are that they are at fixed costs, not percentages.