Human Resources Committee on March 30th, 2023

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mr. Long, did you have your hand up?

Next on my list is Mrs. Roberts.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I must say I'm enjoying this committee and the debate, but I don't understand why, on a bill as important as the one we are about to discuss, we don't have the opportunity to have that information in front of us so that we have the opportunity to review all the witnesses.

This is an important bill and I am a little insulted because, as a single mom, and because many of my constituents have called me and said that they can't find spaces, why are we not giving our constituents—

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

I have a point of order, Chair.

It's not relevant to the dates recommended by her colleague, Ms. Ferreri. I'd like to keep the debate in line with the timeline.

Thank you.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Okay, so—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mrs. Roberts, please keep your comments to the amendment made by Ms. Ferreri, which was simply to consider two additional dates.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

I think the amendment that my colleague presented to the team is fair to every single one of us to have the opportunity—

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

I have a point of order, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mrs. Falk, are you raising a point of order?

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Can you give some clarification here?

I understand that the amendment is dates, but in order to debate something, you need to be able to explain why and what supports your reasoning for these dates. I just don't understand how—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mrs. Falk, as long as the debate stays focused on the two dates, and that's what Mrs. Roberts is doing now, she has the floor.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The point I am trying to make is that I would have appreciated an opportunity to ensure that the witnesses' testimony gave me an understanding of what.... We are here. We are the servants of our constituents. We are here to serve them.

I believe that, in the best interests of this committee and in the best interests of Canadians right across this wonderful country, we should take the time to ensure that all the witness information is presented to this committee so we can have open and honest dialogue. We can't do that if we don't have the time.

By providing us with this time it will allow us the opportunity to present a proper amendment and proper documentation to the rest of the country. This is a very important bill. I'd like to thank my colleague because I am a little offended by my colleague across the way.

I really enjoy her company, so Ms. Saks, don't take this personally, but I was in that position and I could not find day care. I was a young widow and left with two babies I had to find care for. I could not find it. I have constituents calling me, having their parents move from another province to come to where they are currently residing because they can't find—

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair, on relevance.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

The relevance here is, don't we have a right to listen?

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Chair, this is the amendment that we're debating.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mr. Van Bynen is correct. It's the amendment of Ms. Ferreri, which is to extend the date.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Right, and I agree with that amendment, but I want you to understand that we have an important job here to listen to our—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Please keep your comments to the amendment, Mrs. Roberts.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

I understand that, Mr. Chair. I really do, but I think it's important that we take every precaution we possibly can to understand and listen to everything that's in front of us so that we can make the decisions that Canadians expect us to make. This should not be rushed.

This should be done in a timely manner. However, it also has to accommodate our opportunity to review all the documentation and put in the amendments. We don't have that. It's not even in two official languages yet. From what I understand from the clerk, and correct me if I'm wrong, they're only halfway there anyway. I don't understand how we can possibly do that.

I and MP Ferreri are on another committee. We will be travelling across this country in the second part of the riding week. We need to make sure that the documentation is thoroughly understood so that we can come back to this committee and have an open and honest conversation. That's what I think we need to do. I think if we continue that and all get along and all have an opportunity to have an open conversation honestly....

Every single person in this committee has the right to voice their opinion. I'm a newbie MP, so please excuse me if I'm not 100% understanding what's going on, but if I'm going to represent my constituents, I'd like to hear what they want to say. I'd like to represent them based on my riding, based on Canada and what is best for this country. Again I say to you, we are their servants. We are not the masters. We are their servants. Give us an opportunity to please listen to each and every constituent and understand that we have a right to make decisions that will benefit the entire country. This is an issue for all parents.

As a female and young mother, a widow with two children, let me tell you that I did not have a nine-to-five job. That was not my luxury. I wanted to make sure I could support my children. How could I support my young children, if I were put in that position today, making sure they had day care if I couldn't find it?

If we don't have the spaces—

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

I have a point of order, Chair.

Respectfully to my colleague, whom I do enjoy time with, truly, outside this chamber, I'm also a single mother. I have not raised it once during the debate. I made sure to stay within the guidelines of the timelines.

I ask respectfully, through you, Chair, to keep relevance.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Saks.

Mrs. Roberts, the amendment that's currently on the floor for debate is to change the dates.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Right. I'm making the point that I would really appreciate the opportunity to do that. I would really like to understand everything that's in this amendment. I would like the time to make sure I fully review it so that I can bring objective conversation and debate to my colleagues across the floor, and so that everyone has an opportunity to share.

Isn't that what we're here to do? We're here to make sure we listen to each other and we bring those points to the floor. That's my conversation. That's what I would like to do. I'd really appreciate it if we could all....

I think this is a great group. Thank you for having me here today, but I also think we can come to a mutual understanding. It's a simple request that we're asking. We're not asking for more than that. Give us the time to do that.

Those are my comments. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you.

Mrs. Gray, I believe you had your hand up to speak to the amendment.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

When you ran through the list, I thought you had Ms. Ferreri and then me. When I asked for the list earlier on—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

It was you and then Ms. Ferreri—