FEWO Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on the Status of Women met at 11:09 a.m. this day, in Room 371, West Block, the Chair, Judy Sgro, presiding.

On motion of Anita Neville, it was agreed, — That the Hon. Judy Sgro be elected Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Bruce Stanton, it was agreed, — That Joy Smith be elected First Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Judy Sgro, it was agreed, — That Irene Mathyssen be elected Second Vice-Chair of the Committee.

On motion of Patricia Davidson, it was agreed, — That the Committee retain the services of one or more analysts from the Library of Parliament, as needed, to assist the Committe in its work, at the discretion of the Chair.

On motion of Bruce Stanton, it was agreed, — That one copy of the transcript of all in camera meetings be kept in the Committee Clerk’s office for consultation by members of the Committee.

On motion of Belinda Stronach, it was agreed, — That, unless otherwise ordered, each Committee member be allowed to have one staff person present at in camera meetings.

On motion of Johanne Deschamps, it was agreed, — That the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be composed of the Chair, the two Vice-Chairs and a representative from the Bloc Québécois, and that the quorum of the subcommittee consist of a least three members, one of whom must be from the government.

On motion of Anita Neville, it was agreed, — That, if requested, reasonable travel, accommodation and living expenses be reimbursed to witnessses not exceeding one representative per organization; and that, in exceptional circumstances, payment for more representatives be at the discretion of the Chair; and that, if requested, reasonable childcare expenses of witnesses be reimbursed.

On motion of Joy Smith, it was agreed, — That except for amendments to bills, forty-eight (48) hours notice be given before any substantive motion to be considered by the Committee; and that the motion be filed with the Clerk of the Committee and circulated to members in both official languages. Upon receipt of the notice, the Clerk shall put the motion on the agenda of the Committe's next meeting.

On motion of Irene Mathyssen, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to make the necessary arrangements to provide for working meals for the Committee.

On motion of Johanne Deschamps, it was agreed, — That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to distribute to the members of the Committee only documents when they exist in both official languages and that no document provided by a witness be distributed without the authorization of the Clerk of the Committee.

On motion of Nina Grewal, it was agreed, — That the Chair be authorized to hold meetings to receive and publish evidence when a quorum is not present provided that at least 3 members are present, including one member of the opposition.

On motion of Joy Smith, it was agreed, — That witnesses be given 10 minutes to make their opening statement; That during the questioning of witnesses the time allocated to each questioner be as follows:

On the first round of questioning, 7 minutes to a representative of each party in the following order:

Liberal Party

Bloc Québécois,

Conservative Party and

New Democratic Party.

On the following rounds of questioning, 5 minutes per party in the following order:

Liberal Party,

Conservative Party,

Bloc Québécois,

New Democratic Party and

Conservative Party.

On motion of Joy Smith, it was agreed, — That the proposed budget for the study on Human Trafficking in the amount of $ 63,000 for the period of September 26, 2006 to December 29, 2006, be adopted.

Maria Minna moved, — Whereas Gender Based Analysis (GBA) is a tool that is used to clarify the differences between women and men when developing policies, programs and legislation;

Whereas at the fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 Canada, along with 188 other nations, committed to develop a federal plan based on GBA to advance the situation of women, both within its own borders and globally;

Whereas Canada played a leading role at the Conference to secure the adoption of a strong Platform for Action that included key agreements on issues such as violence against women, unpaid work, and poverty;

Whereas in 2000 the federal government approved the Agenda for Gender Equality, a five year government-wide strategy, that accelerated the implementation of GBA to strengthen government policy capacity;

Whereas the Expert Panel on Accountability Mechanisms for Gender Equality in its final report (2005) recommends in the immediate term, taking administrative actions and key policy decisions and in the medium term, adopting legislation to mandate GBA;

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on the Status of Women invite the Deputy Ministers from key ministries (Finance, Justice, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, Immigration and Treasury Board) to provide an update of the implementation of GBA in their areas.

Debate arose thereon.

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

At 12:11 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.