Evidence of meeting #88 for Finance in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was income.
A recording is available from Parliament.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Thank you.
To summarize, food bank usage, for your food banks at least, is at record highs.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
It's also a record number of employed individuals who are going to food banks. Would that be correct?
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Also, from the North York food bank, they were quoted in an article as saying there's also record numbers of individuals who have post-secondary education who are going to food banks.
Would you also...?
6:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Daily Bread Food Bank
Yes. Approximately 50% to 52% of food bank clients in the Toronto area have a post-secondary education.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Wow.
Ms. Nicholls, this is to you.
You mentioned that you had clients coming who are considering accessing MAID.
I'm wondering whether you know the specific facts or story behind that, obviously not giving names, and whether you would be willing to share that or any other particularly poignant story. I think beyond the numbers, it's important to humanize it. These are real human beings who are your clients there.
6:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Mississauga Food Bank
I speak about MAID, not from the perspective of our organization having a position on that, but purely from the place of saying that people are in desperate need. Often it's people who are surviving on a low disability income from a disability support program at the provincial level. Those are the folks we have heard that from the most. They are struggling to survive, with all the extra costs you have when you have a disability.
There are stories every day that we could tell you. If you want to hear a story about a family, a working person, a newcomer, there are desperate situations where people are making impossible choices.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Philip Lawrence Conservative Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
Thank you, and thank you for testimony. It was both poignant and meaningful, and I hope Canadians were listening. I know I was certainly listening
Thank you.
6:30 p.m.
Conservative
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Dr. Lafontaine, I want to follow up, but I wanted to mention that I was at the PPF dinner the night that you got the award. Your story is incredibly inspirational for a number of people across the country. Thank you for what you do in the health care system and for being a leader.
You mentioned a couple of times interprovincial licensing and recognition. We hear a lot about the challenges of newcomer Canadians with credentials.
I was in an Uber two weeks ago with an Afghanistan family-trained physician. He said, “Look, technically I'm there. There are some ethics things. They do things a little differently here.” He has the skills, but it's going to take him another four years.
What can we do to get these people credentialed quicker in the system?
6:30 p.m.
President, Canadian Medical Association
There are two challenges we have to address.
The first is this: We have to change our assessment system. When a newcomer comes to Canada, they have to not only provide credentials but also go through the same assessment system, including...whether or not English is their first language. They may have practised in an English-speaking environment, but they are still required to write that exam in many parts of the country.
The second part is having consistent regulation across the country, whether you go to Saskatchewan or B.C. The regulations have shifted over the years. For example, in Saskatchewan, in a lot of peripheral locations in small rural towns, the medical care provided is done by folks who don't actually have their papers. What that means is they don't have the credentialing required to have migration across the country. That's an effect of different governments deciding, at different times, to change their criteria. We need a convergence across the country of that criteria in order to have free mobility across the country, particularly for immigrants who are health professionals. Two in five, I believe, is the StatsCan number of folks who are meaningfully employed in their area of expertise when they come to Canada. There's an enormous number of people out there who could work in the health care system.
I think the third and final point is this: We have to look at roles like physician assistants. Maybe you've been out of the health care system for a long period of time. You can still participate meaningfully, but not in the same role you had in your country of origin.
6:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you, Mr. Chambers. Those were excellent questions.
We're now going to MP Chatel for the final five minutes and the end of questions.
6:35 p.m.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I can't reconcile the seeming empathy you have for food banks in this situation with your policies of cutting taxes for the rich, cutting spending and letting polluters go tax-free. I don't know how this could ever help food banks.
What we need to do, as a witness mentioned, is jobs, jobs and jobs. Jobs are important. We need to invest in an economy centred on innovation that creates good jobs for the middle class. We need to provide every Canadian with a fair opportunity to prosper in the clean economy of tomorrow. Prepandemic...compared to the job statement today, we have recuperated 900,000 jobs. This is important. This is because of government spending during times that are hard for Canadians. We have to step in as a government, maintain our economy and continue to grow and plan for the future. That's exactly what this budget is doing.
I want to talk more precisely about programs that would be cut by the Conservatives. It will be a discussion on the surplus food rescue program. Another one is the emergency food security fund. Are these types of programs helpful to your organization and should they be expanded?
6:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Daily Bread Food Bank
We applaud those programs.
Canada ranks number one out of 120 countries, according to The Economist, in food safety. That's wonderful. We rank 26th in food affordability, and we are dismal when it comes to food wastage. We waste, according to Second Harvest, 50 billion dollars' worth of food per year.
6:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Daily Bread Food Bank
It's astonishing.
Promoting programs that will provide for the reclamation of those foods so they can be used.... In Ontario, as an example, in 2013, there was a private member's bill to gave a tax credit. I think your colleagues across the aisle might like this tax credit, which allows farmers to benefit from the donation of food. That meant organizations like the Mississauga Food Bank and the Daily Bread Food Bank were able to increase our stock of good, fresh food. I would encourage the federal government to follow suit and match the tax credit that's there.
At the same time, I want to emphasize that we are not suggesting the issue with food security can be solved by the reclamation of food or by charity. It is through decent social policy.
6:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Mississauga Food Bank
I was going to say the same as my colleague here.
Food waste is a problem. Food insecurity is a problem. Right now, there is a way to marry a solution that helps with both of those, but ultimately, a strong social safety net that people won't slip through is what's going to solve this for the long term.
6:35 p.m.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
I cannot agree more.
We have other programs, as well, for Canadians struggling to put food on the table, for families and for seniors. Could you talk about the various programs you have mentioned that support the people you see on a daily basis knocking on your door?
6:40 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Mississauga Food Bank
Are you asking about our programs that we operate?
6:40 p.m.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
I'm asking about the program that the government provides to Canadians and seniors. We were talking about the safety net and what we did during the pandemic to help them. For example, we were talking about housing and the two-time payment to help low-income renters.
Have you seen that those programs helped the people who come to your food bank?
6:40 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Mississauga Food Bank
They help in the month that they receive them. They ask us, “Why can't we have this every month?”