THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON INTERNAL ECONOMY, BUDGETS AND ADMINISTRATION
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Thursday, June 8, 2017
The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration met this day at 9:30 a.m., in public, pursuant to rule 12-7(1), for the consideration of financial and administrative matters; and, in camera, pursuant to rule 12-7(1), for the consideration of financial and administrative matters.
Senator Leo Housakos (Chair) in the chair.
The Chair: Good morning, colleagues. We’ll get right to the short but important agenda today.
Item 1 is the adoption of minutes of proceedings of May 18, 2017, public portion. Can I have someone move that motion? Senator Downe. Thank you, colleagues.
I assume all in favour. There are no questions.
Item 2, post-trip report from Senator Munson. It has been distributed, and Senator Munson will give us a little brief on this.
Senator Munson: Good morning, honourable senators.
Congratulations, Mr. President, on yesterday’s portrait hanging. It was a very emotional and positive event. I’m very happy for you and the Senate.
On international travel, colleagues, it is our practice that when a senator travels internationally on behalf of the Senate, a report is tabled with this committee and in the chamber.
I have the honour to table the report from my trip to the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2017 in Austria from March 16 to 23, 2017.
Just briefly, so I can avoid questions from Senator Marshall, as she’s the money woman, we had budgeted somewhere around $6,000. There’s nothing wrong with flying economy, so my budget numbers are quite low, around $2,600 or so. I do have an advantage.
Senator Downe: A small discount.
Senator Tkachuk: Lots of leg room.
Senator Munson: Since this is a public forum and I do want to be serious about this, Senator Tkachuk, after I’m done today, I’ll see you shortly.
Anyway, one more short joke. Who cares after 70 years anymore, but watch out in the corners.
Speaking of sport, these are just wonderful adults and children representing our country at the Special Olympics World Games, and we won more medals than ever. The Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities was there, Carla Qualtrough, representing the government. I was there to represent the Senate.
I’ve gone to a number of these games. I spoke extensively each and every day, and also handed out medals in the square. It’s quite emotional when you’re with them. There’s nothing better in life than being hugged by a child with Down syndrome, I can tell you. It was just a really moving time.
There were 3,000 athletes there. Think about it. We’re talking athletes, good athletes, representing 105 countries.
In our group, we had over 100 athletes. We seemed to win. Even when we lost, it didn’t really matter. You can see somebody finishing fourth, fifth or six, and they’re just as happy as the person who finished first. The motto at Special Olympics is “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me just compete and be in the game.”
It really was a good trip. I felt that in terms of our work in minority rights, this is a place where — when I was appointed to the Senate thirteen and a half years ago now, I said I wanted to be the senator representing those with intellectual and physical disabilities, and that’s what I’ve done. So I appreciate that the committee approved this trip.
Four years from now, I’ll maybe make it for the next summer games, but it will be close in terms of my own retirement, which is rather hard to think about right now because I’m just having so much fun.
This is my report, and I’ll take any questions.
Senator Marshall: Thank you, Senator Munson, very much for that. It’s really important that the Senate be represented at the games. I’m pleased to hear that you were able to participate in it. Thanks very much for addressing the financial implications.
In the interests of full disclosure, I just want to let everybody know that I did launch a preemptive strike this morning before the meeting when I saw Senator Munson out there in the parking lot. I told him we were looking forward to his report. So thanks very much.
Senator Munson: I appreciate that.
Senator Batters: I was just wondering, Senator Munson, if you had an opportunity to get any media coverage while you were over there. Was any media interested in your participation?
Senator Munson: We had extensive media coverage in many other countries. There were a lot of national and international media at the event.
As far as here, I wrote an op-ed for Canadian newspapers and one that appeared in SenCA Plus, which was well received. In this day and age, you create your own news agenda, so in terms of tweeting, I tweeted extensively. It’s amazing how those in the Special Olympics movement around the world retweeted what I said, the pictures and the things we do. There was incredible coverage in other parts of the world.
There’s also TSN. I appeared on a program, a one-hour mini-documentary, that I think will air this summer and in the fall. You’ll see it four to six times. TSN gives of their own time through a production house called Bradford Productions, I believe. I was interviewed as part of that program. That will be on TSN in the fall.
Senator Batters: That’s great. Thank you.
Senator Tkachuk: We had the minister representing the government. Is there anybody representing the House of Commons? In other words, when you go to these events not only representing the Senate, but if there are no members of Parliament, you should be representing all of Parliament.
Senator Munson: It’s a good point. I think somebody should take up that — not the cause itself — but you could say that Minister Qualtrough, as Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities —
Senator Tkachuk: She’s government.
Senator Munson: She’s government and cabinet. It wouldn’t hurt —
Senator Tkachuk: No, it would not.
Senator Munson: — because there are presidents and prime ministers from other countries who do attend the Special Olympics.
Just for a bit of background, Eunice Kennedy Shriver gets a lot of coverage because of the summer camps she had because her sister had an intellectual disability, but Canada’s own Dr. Frank Hayden at York University, who is a friend, who is 88 years old and still going strong, was the person who developed the concept that those who have an intellectual disability — Down syndrome or otherwise — can participate in sport. It was his idea, and he worked with Eunice Kennedy Shriver on this whole program. He was just put into the hall of fame in Toronto. There’s a school named after him, I think, in Burlington.
But since I have the opportunity, and since we are public, if you have ever met Dr. Frank Hayden, you’ve met a man of courage and ideas; a man who has children with disabilities in his heart, as well as those of adults. Sometimes, people make the mistake that it’s for children, but there are people from the ages of 14 to 70 who participate in these games. In these games, you compete against somebody at your level. It’s divisioning. For example, in Shanghai, I saw a young man run the 100 metres in 11 seconds. That’s fast. Then you have division 4, where they can do it in 30 seconds. But it doesn’t matter. They’re competing. “Let me win, but if I can’t win, let me be brave in the attempt” is the motto.
I would encourage members of Parliament to seek some funding and go to a special place called the Special Olympics.
[Translation]
Senator Dupuis: I have a question of information and clarification on Senator Munson’s report. It comes in the second paragraph, under the heading “Background” on page 4 in the English version. This is the first time I have seen a report of this kind. If I understand correctly, the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration approved the funding request. Was that the steering committee or the full committee?
The Chair: It was the steering committee.
[English]
Senator Munson: The steering committee approved it. Every senator has the opportunity to apply to go to events or games like this. The steering committee really goes through this with a fine-toothed comb and takes a look at what we’ve done. I’ve been to games over 13 years — Nagano, Shanghai and Greece.
Just to tell you how non-partisan this is, Jim Flaherty, whom I admired and who was one of my great supporters in terms of funding for Special Olympics — I went to him, budget after budget. On the third time around, he said, “Jim, you don’t have to come and see me this time. It’s in the budget.” Jim Flaherty had a heart. He knew what Special Olympics was about, because one of his boys has a disability. He was always there.
He was going to speak at the Athens games four years ago, and he couldn’t make it at the last minute. He asked me to speak on behalf of Canada at the embassy in Athens to about 500 or 600 diplomats and others. I found that an honour to be able to represent our country.
It’s about relationships you build here on the Hill which matters the most, if you care about something.
All of that to say that senators can apply. They will ask you a lot of questions, but you have to prepare a report like we have in terms of your submission. You go over it with the steering committee, and they can approve or disapprove. That’s the process.
[Translation]
Senator Dupuis: That being the case, I think it would be a good idea to clarify that the steering committee of the internal economy committee approved the request.
[English]
The Chair: Are there any other questions? Are we all agreed, colleagues, that we table the report in the Senate?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you.
Item 3 is the Subcommittee on Diversity — extension of deadline.
Senator Marshall: Senator Jaffer isn’t here this morning. She’s chair of the subcommittee that was established by Internal Economy. She asked me to present the motion. Following that, I’ll provide you with some details.
The motion is:
That notwithstanding the motion of the committee adopted on Thursday, April 13, 2017, the date for the final report of the Subcommittee on Diversity in relation to its review of the findings contained in the Fifth Report of the Senate Administration’s Advisory Committee on Diversity and Accessibility be extended from June 30, 2017 to October 31, 2017.
What’s being requested here is a postponement of the reporting deadline for the Subcommittee on Diversity. As indicated in the motion, we’re asking that it be extended to October 31. We’ve completed our hearings. There are four senators on the subcommittee. We met yesterday and gave direction to the analysts regarding the drafting of the final report.
During the meetings, we had a number of witnesses. We had our own people, such as the Director of Human Resources, as well as other members of the Human Resources Directorate and the Office of the Black Rod. We spoke to him regarding the page program. We also had a number of representatives from the Public Service Commission and Treasury Board to hear what they’re doing with regard to their diversity programs. Then we met in camera with some staff members within the Senate administration to discuss some issues.
We’ve been looking at what’s happening within the Senate, as well as what’s happening within the broader public service. This is why we met with Treasury Board and the Public Service Commission.
We’d like to have some additional time to prepare our final report. As you all know, May and June are very busy months. I know from my own perspective, a lot of my time has been taken up with meetings on Finance Committee because we’ve had Bill C-44, the budget bill, as well as Main Estimates and supplementary supply.
We would like to have some time over the summer. We had discussions yesterday at the committee as to exactly what the members would be doing over the summer with regard to the report.
So that’s basically it. We’d like an extension until October 31. Any questions?
Senator Downe: Just briefly. I raised the issue before, Senator Marshall, about qualified medically released veterans, members of the Armed Forces who had to leave the Armed Forces because they were injured during their service to the country. That’s a group that I hope is being looked at as well, because we are under-represented.
Senator Marshall: Yes. The diversity issue has always looked at four categories, and veterans is not one of them. But the issue of veterans, yes, we’ve discussed it. We are looking at that and including something in our report on that. We have obtained some information on that.
Senator Downe: Just to be clear, it’s not veterans in and of itself; it’s medically released veterans from the Canadian Forces, people who could not continue in their careers because of injuries incurred.
The government has a major initiative on to place these people who are qualified, being one of the keywords. On that list I got from Public Service, there were 586 of these medically released veterans who wanted to work for the Government of Canada but could not find a position before their time on the employment list fell off.
It’s a little different here in the Senate, I understand, because most positions are advertised, but I think it falls under this category. It should be an additional category.
Senator Marshall: Yes. We’re fully aware of it.
Senator Downe: Thank you.
Senator Marshall: The issue did come up in our discussions with the Public Service Commission.
Senator Downe: Thank you.
The Chair: Colleagues, are there any other questions on this?
I think Senator Marshall has already moved the motion, and it’s been noted. Colleagues, are we all in favour of the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: All agreed. Thank you. The motion is carried.
Before we go in camera, I have one other item to add to Other Matters, and that is to make an important announcement, because there’s a senior member of the executive administration of the Senate that has announced to me this week that she will be retiring after two decades of loyal service to this institution. Like any institution that goes through highs and lows, she’s gone through those highs and lows with us and has been a loyal servant and has worked very diligently. You’ve seen the loyalty she has to this institution in those low moments, when we were challenged and faced some serious adversity.
Nicole Proulx announced to us that in the fall, she will be taking her retirement after 20 years of service for the Senate of Canada. I wanted everyone to be aware of that. I also want to give the floor to Nicole if she wants to add anything.
Nicole Proulx, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and Chief Corporate Services Officer, Senate of Canada: Thank you. I guess when he said “she,” you already had some indication that I was the one.
After a lot of thought and certainly a bit of an emotional time thinking about it, yes. I will be 55 in September, and so the secret is out. I have 19 years in the Senate in September, and a total of 38 and some years of service in the public service. As you can imagine, after 35 years, my deed has been completed, but I couldn’t leave yet. So in September, or in the fall, I will be retiring.
I didn’t really prepare anything, but it's heartfelt.
The Chair: We allow people to speak from their heart, unprepared.
Ms. Proulx: It’s in public, so it’s adding a level of stress here. I will have other opportunities to share. There’s time, but I wanted to give sufficient time to Internal Economy to prepare for the next steps, and this will give the summer to allow for the transition and for me to clean up my numerous emails and files.
I wish to thank you all.
The Chair: I know I speak on behalf of everybody that you will be sorely missed, if, of course, you keep that deadline of leaving in the fall. You still have the summer to change your mind.
But she’s been adamant for the last few days that it’s a firm and final decision. I’ve worked now with Nicole for over two years, and I know that when she takes a decision, it’s hard to get her to turn on it, which is a good thing, because you need strong people on the rudder of a boat when you’re in tough waters.
Nicole, I thank you, on everybody’s behalf, and the Senate thanks you for your service.
Ms. Proulx: Thank you.
(The committee continued in camera.)