Proceedings of the Subcommittee on
Veterans Affairs

Issue 1 - Evidence, June 15, 2000

[English]

The Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology met this day at 8:30 a.m. to organize the activities of the committee.

Ms Barbara Reynolds, Clerk of the Subcommittee: Honourable senators, we have a quorum. As clerk of your subcommittee, it is my duty to preside over the election of the Chair. I am ready to receive motions to that effect. Are there any nominations?

Senator Wiebe: I nominate Senator Meighen as the Chair.

The Clerk: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Clerk: I declare the motion carried and turn the Chair over to the Honourable Senator Meighen, the Chair of the committee. I invite the honourable senator to take the Chair.

Senator Michael A. Meighen (Chairman) in the Chair.

The Chairman: I believe it is now in order to elect a deputy chair. I move:

That the Honourable Senator Weibe be Deputy Chair of this subcommittee.

Honourable senators, is it agreed?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: I move:

That the subcommittee print 150 copies of its proceedings and that the Chair be authorized to adjust this number to meet demand.

Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

[Translation]

Senator Pépin: It is moved:

That pursuant to rule 89, the Chair be authorized to hold meetings, to receive and authorize the printing of the evidence when a quorum is not present, provided that a representative of the government and a representative from the opposition are present.

[English]

The Chairman: Honourable senators, is it agreed?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

Senator Wiebe: Honourable senators, I move:

That the Chair and Deputy Chair be authorized to retain the services of such experts as may be required by the work of the subcommittee;

That the subcommittee ask the Library of Parliament to assign research officers to the subcommittee; and

That the Chair, on behalf of the subcommittee direct the research staff in the preparation of studies, analyses, summaries and draft reports.

The Chairman: Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: I move:

That pursuant to section 32 of the Financial Administration Act, authority to commit funds be conferred on the Chair or, in the Chair's absence, the Deputy Chair; and

That, pursuant to section 34 of the Financial Administration Act, and Guideline 3:05 of Appendix II of the Rules of the Senate, authority for certifying accounts payable by the subcommittee be conferred individually on the Chair, the Deputy Chair, and the Clerk of the Subcommittee.

Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: I move:

That, pursuant to the Senate guidelines for witnesses' expenses, the subcommittee may reimburse reasonable travelling and living expenses for one witness from any one organization and payment will take place upon application, but that the Chair be authorized to approve expenses for a second witness should there be exceptional circumstances.

Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

[Translation]

The Chairman: This authorizes us to reimburse the travel and living expenses of one witness from any one group.

[English]

Senator Wiebe: Honourable senators, I move:

That the Subcommittee empower the Chair to designate, as required, one or more members of the subcommittee and/or such staff as may be necessary to travel on assignment on behalf of the subcommittee.

The Chairman: Is it agreed, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: I know the clerk has had a look at the schedule and we would suggest ten o'clock on Tuesday mornings as our regular meeting time.

Senator Wiebe: Will that be every Tuesday or will we be notified otherwise?

The Chairman: You will be notified.

We will prepare a work plan over the summer in accordance with the mandate that we will receive from the Senate. That is the next item on the agenda. We will work out a plan over the summer. Members will have an opportunity to examine that and decide whether you want to meet every week or every two weeks. There may be travel involved, so there will be flexibility. However, the regular spot will be Tuesday mornings.

Item 10 is the draft budget. We need to speak about our mandate. Do all senators have the piece of paper which comes to us from Grant Purves who has been with this committee, I understand, since its infancy.

We are lucky to have both Mr. Purves and Ms Reynolds with us. They have both had extensive experience in this field. It will be particularly important to know what has happened in the past and what loose ends there may be.

Honourable senators will find a suggested mandate on page 2 of the outstanding issues paper that Mr. Purves has prepared. It reads:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology be authorized to examine and report on the health care provided to veterans of war and of peacekeeping missions; --

Until now, for obvious reasons, the emphasis has been on the veterans of the two world wars and the Korean war, but there are now increasing challenges to be met with respect to our peacekeepers.

-- the implementation of the recommendations made in its previous reports on such matters; --

We would like to look at the recommendations in the report "Raising the Bar" prepared under the chairmanship of Senator Phillips and Senator Johnstone. I have asked Mr. Purves to check, over the summer months, which recommendations have been acted upon which have not.

The paragraph continues as follows:

-- and the terms of service, post-discharge benefits and health care of members of the regular and reserve forces, as well as members of the RCMP and of civilians who have served in close support of uniformed peacekeepers.

I would hope that will cover the ancillary forces of the RCMP and civilians, plus reservists and regulars on peacekeeping missions and in other areas.

Is that agreed?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: Would a reporting date of June 30 be acceptable?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: We should also request permission to deposit the report with the Clerk, should the Senate not be sitting at that time. Is that agreed?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

The Chairman: We need to discuss a budget.

Ms Reynolds: At this point you cannot officially discuss a budget. However, I did bring with me a copy of the budget that was prepared for the previous subcommittee to give you an idea of what costs you might incur. You must have an order of reference from the Senate in order to officially adopt a budget, but this will give you an idea of what will be required.

The Chairman: Presumably it would be best to go before Internal Economy in the fall, having received our terms of reference.

Ms Reynolds: You could have your terms of reference approved before the Senate rises.

As an example, a trip to the headquarters of Veterans Affairs in Prince Edward Island could be done for under $20,000.

The Chairman: I thought that over the summer we could read the previous report and have Mr. Purves tell us which of its recommendations have been acted upon. Then we will have a basis upon which to get background information from officials in Charlottetown. I think we must make the case to Internal Economy that, as a new committee, we must go and talk to the officials.

We might want to follow up on health care facilities for veterans once we have a knowledge of how the department operates, what it has done, and what it has not done.

The committee adjourned.