CONTENTS
Wednesday 10 June 1992
Ministry of Health
STANDING COMMITTEE ON ESTIMATES
*Chair / Président: Jackson, Cameron (Burlington South/-Sud PC)
*Vice-Chair / Vice-Présidente: Marland, Margaret (Mississauga South/-Sud PC)
*Bisson, Giles (Cochrane South/-Sud ND)
Carr, Gary (Oakville South/-Sud PC)
*Eddy, Ron (Brant-Haldimand L)
Ferguson, Will, (Kitchener ND)
*Frankford, Robert (Scarborough East/-Est ND)
Lessard, Wayne (Windsor-Walkerville ND)
O'Connor, Larry (Durham-York ND)
Perruzza, Anthony (Downsview ND)
Ramsay, David (Timiskaming L)
*Sorbara, Gregory S. (York Centre L)
Substitutions / Membres remplaçants:
Arnott, Ted (Wellington PC) for Mr Carr
*Sullivan, Barbara (Halton Centre L) for Mr Ramsay
*Wessenger, Paul (Simcoe Centre ND) for Mr Ferguson
*In attendance / présents
Clerk: Greffier: Carrozza, Franco
The committee met at 1527 in committee room 2.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
The Chair (Mr Cameron Jackson): I'd like to call to order the standing committee on estimates.
Mr Gregory S. Sorbara (York Centre): Mr Chairman, I understand the minister is not available today. Under the circumstances and consistent with the way in which estimates have been run generally around this place, I move that the committee adjourn to its next sitting, which I understand is next Tuesday afternoon.
Interjection: Excuse me, I couldn't hear you.
Mr Sorbara: Oh, I'm sorry. We've been given to understand, and I think the Chairman has confirmed, that the minister is not available to participate in estimates today. In view of those circumstances and in view of the tradition of not proceeding with estimates in the absence of the minister during an estimates hearing, I move that we adjourn the committee, to continue the Health estimates at the next sitting of the committee next Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Gilles Bisson (Cochrane South): First of all, I think everybody understands why the minister is not here.
Interjection: I haven't heard.
Mr Bisson: I'm sorry, I'll explain. The minister is sick. She is not well and is at home.
The Chair: The minister served notice through her staff that she is ill and we wish her best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Mr Bisson: With regard to the question of the minister, standing order 62(a) says basically that the minister or the person answerable for the estimates is allowed to answer the questions of the members of the committee. My understanding is that the parliamentary assistant will be here today and will be able to answer questions, and the deputy minister will be here as well. The difficulty we have is that if we don't do it today, we're going to be pushed back even further. So I would vote against your motion.
The Chair: Do you wish to have a lengthy discussion?
Mr Sorbara: Just to say I'm sorry to hear that. We'll proceed with the motion in any event, but the tradition of the estimates committee has been, Gilles, that the committee defers to the timetable and, under certain circumstances, the availability of the minister. When the minister's not here, the committee adjusts its schedule. So I just proceed with my motion and I hope you won't interfere with it. I hope you won't lightly trample on that tradition; let me put it that way.
Mr Bisson: On the question of tradition, I know last year when Treasury was before the committee in order to make its presentation, the parliamentary assistant substituted for the Treasurer as the Treasurer had to be away on government business. It has been done before that the parliamentary assistant sits in.
The Chair: As a point of record, the committee activities ceased operations at the point at which the parliamentary assistant assumed the chair. For that reason, they didn't complete the estimates, because of the absence of the Treasurer.
I'd like to call the question. All those in favour? Those opposed, if any? The motion is carried. This committee stands adjourned until Tuesday of next week following routine proceedings, at which time we'll reconvene to continue the Ministry of Health estimates.
The committee adjourned at 1530.