STANDING COMMITTEE ON
SOCIAL POLICY
COMITÉ PERMANENT DE
LA POLITIQUE SOCIALE
Thursday 13 December 2007 Jeudi 13 décembre 2007
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The committee met at 1103 in room 228.
ELECTION OF CHAIR
The Clerk of the Committee (Mr. Katch Koch): Good morning, honourable members. It is my duty to call upon you to elect a Chair. Are there any nominations?
Ms. Laurel C. Broten: Yes. I'd like to nominate Shafiq Qaadri to serve as Chair.
The Clerk of the Committee (Mr. Katch Koch): Mr. Qaadri, do you accept the nomination?
Mr. Shafiq Qaadri: I'm honoured to accept the nomination.
The Clerk of the Committee (Mr. Katch Koch): Any other nominations? There being no further nominations, I declare the nominations closed and Mr. Qaadri elected Chair of the committee.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): I'd like to thank my nominator, Laurel Broten, MPP for Etobicoke–Lakeshore. If there's no further business, I declare the committee --
Ms. Laurel C. Broten: No, we have to nominate a Vice-Chair.
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Do I have nominations for a Vice-Chair?
Ms. Laurel C. Broten: Thank you, Chair, and congratulations on your new role. I'd like to nominate Vic Dhillon to serve as Vice-Chair.
Mr. Khalil Ramal: I second the nomination.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Ms. Broten has nominated Vic Dhillon for Vice-Chair, seconded by Mr. Ramal. Are there any further nominations? Nominations closed. I declare Vic Dhillon nominated as Vice-Chair.
APPOINTMENT OF SUBCOMMITTEE
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Do we have appointments for subcommittee business?
Mr. Khalil Ramal: Mr. Chair, congratulations on your appointment. I know you'll do an excellent job. I know you did it in the past, and you'll do it in the future too.
I move that a subcommittee on committee business be appointed to meet from time to time at the call of the Chair, or at the request of any member thereof, to consider and respond to the committee on the business of the committee;
That the subcommittee be composed of the following members: the Chair as Chair, Ms. Broten from the Liberal side, Ms. Scott from the Conservative side, and Ms. DiNovo from the NDP side;
That the presence of all members of the subcommittee is necessary to continue a meeting.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Thank you, Mr. Ramal, for your submission. Are there any comments or questions with reference to the subcommittee Chair?
We welcome Ms. Scott.
Mr. Dave Levac: Yes, I just want to correct one word. I hate to say it, I normally don't do this, but he said "to consider"; it's "to constitute a meeting."
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Thank you, Mr. Levac.
Mr. Dave Levac: There could be a glitch in that if we don't say it right, so I wanted to correct that.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Thank you. So we'll take the subcommittee appointed, as read.
Just to notify the committee, I understand, by the way, that Bill 8, on the trans fats ban for schools, will in fact be referred through the House to the committee and we'll likely need an organizational meeting. That's a heads-up for subcommittee members -- probably next week.
Ms. Laurie Scott: You said there's a subcommittee meeting, probably next week?
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Congratulations for now being on that subcommittee.
Ms. Laurie Scott: I'm not on the subcommittee?
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): You are on the subcommittee.
Ms. Laurie Scott: Oh, I thought you said I'm not on the subcommittee. Okay, I'll be on the subcommittee next week. There's a motion today in the Legislature that's going to be brought up?
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): One would never want to presume what's happening in the chamber, but that's the understanding.
Ms. Laurie Scott: That's the understanding. Thank you.
Ms. Laurel C. Broten: Would it be prudent to establish, while we are all here, a generic -- if in fact a bill does come to this committee, I would suggest that perhaps we establish, for all of our scheduling purposes and otherwise, a game plan moving forward. I'd be prepared to move that at this time if others would be willing to see that motion made.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Sure, I think scheduling is certainly doable. I think our clerk, Mr. Koch, may even in fact be able to execute on the phone if necessary, if we all are in our various ridings. It's really just a matter of making sure that the subcommittee is heard. We could do a formal one, but with the will of the committee, we might just wait for the notification from Parliament.
I'd like to congratulate you, Mr. Dhillon, on being appointed Vice-Chair of this committee.
Is there any further business?
Mr. Dave Levac: Yes, just for clarity purposes. I don't want to belabour this; keep the gavel in your hand, because we want to go down.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Mr. Dickson, please join us at the committee area.
Mr. Dave Levac: It's the subcommittee that we'd be deferring to with regard to the scheduling. Is that what I'm hearing?
Interjection.
Mr. Dave Levac: Okay, because I think it's important to recognize that it's the subcommittee that does that work. Thanks. That's just for clarity purposes.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Just for our new members as well, first of all, welcome to the committee on social policy. This is just a purely organizational meeting: as you'll know, election of Chair and Vice-Chair and subcommittee appointment, which is, just for your information, Ms. Broten, Ms. Scott and Ms. DiNovo.
Once again, Bill 8, the Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act -- trans fats -- is likely to be referred to this committee and then we'll likely begin hearings, I understand, in January.
Having said all that, is there any further business?
Mr. Dave Levac: I always remembered to do this when I was in my last few committees: Merry Christmas, everyone.
The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Merry Christmas, season's greetings. Thank you, Mr. Levac.
Seeing no further business, the committee is adjourned.
The committee adjourned at 1108.
CONTENTS
Thursday 13 December 2007
Election of Chair SP-1
Election of Vice-Chair SP-1
Appointment of subcommittee SP-1
STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL POLICY
Chair / Président
Mr. Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North / Etobicoke-Nord L)
Vice-Chair / Vice-Président
Mr. Vic Dhillon (Brampton West / Brampton-Ouest L)
Ms. Laurel C. Broten (Etobicoke—Lakeshore L)
Mr. Vic Dhillon (Brampton West / Brampton-Ouest L)
Ms. Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale—High Park ND)
Ms. Helena Jaczek (Oak Ridges—Markham L)
Mr. Dave Levac (Brant L)
Mr. Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North / Etobicoke-Nord L)
Mr. Khalil Ramal (London—Fanshawe L)
Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock PC)
Mr. Peter Shurman (Thornhill PC)
Also taking part / Autres participants et participantes
Mr. Joe Dickson (Ajax—Pickering L)
Clerk / Greffier
Mr. Katch Koch
Staff / Personnel
Ms. Elaine Campbell, research officer,
Research and Information Services