Human Resources Committee on Feb. 7th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

The amendment has been moved. I see no further debate. I will now call for a vote on the amendment of Madam Zarrillo.

Is everybody clear on the amendment? I see nods of “yes”, Madam Clerk, so we'll vote on the amendment of Madam Zarrillo.

(Amendment agreed to: yeas 11; nays 0)

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

If there's no further debate, do we have unanimous consent on the main motion as amended? Indicate by a thumbs-up.

(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

Mr. Coteau, you have the floor.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to move a motion, and it will be passed around:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study regarding the government's plan to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of Black-led and Black-serving organizations through the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative and that the Committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Coteau.

Is there any debate?

Madame Chabot, you have the floor.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Coteau, I think the motion's very good, but could you please explain its objective?

[Michael Coteau]

It would be my pleasure.

There was a $25-million investment in the 2019 budget to support Black-led, Black-supported, community-based organizations throughout the country. This report would look to see if the program has been successful and how it's working, to better align it to support organizations even further. It's something that is just part of good governance. It's something that government should be doing: looking at the programs we provide and reporting back to the House.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Next is Mr. Long, and then we have Madame Ferrada and Mr. Ruff.

Mr. Long, you have the floor.

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

I just want to say that certainly I support this motion. I think it's very relevant. I know that in my riding of Saint John—Rothesay I work with great organizations like PRUDE, with Ralph Thomas at the Black History Heritage Centre, and with the Black Lives Matter New Brunswick organization. They are doing great work, but they certainly can use more support and more focused programs from the federal government.

This is a wonderful motion, and I wholeheartedly support it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Long.

Madame Ferrada, you have the floor.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We're celebrating Black history month and the reality is that racialized communities, including the Black community, face specific challenges with regard to community organizations and the funding necessary to promote the business of Black entrepreneurs.

There is a large Black community in my riding and it faces challenges every day. I think this motion comes at the right time to help us clearly understand how we can do better for this community, which is spread across the entire country. We have a duty to support it more effectively and this motion is a timely encouragement to address certain issues.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Madame Ferrada.

Mr. Ruff, you have the floor, followed by Mr. Van Bynen.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Intuitively I have no issues with the motion, because my own daughter is of mixed ethnicity. I just believe that we treat everybody equally.

I guess my question is more for the mover, Mr. Coteau. He says that the purpose behind this is to address whether the program, which was just introduced a couple of years ago with the funding, is working yet. It's good to do due diligence. I totally agree. I come from multiple years of working in uniform within the public service. To me, it is just normal practice to see if the program is working or not, and there should be that necessary follow-up.

This is almost more of a question. Have we had indications that the program is failing, that it's not doing what it's supposed to do? I think we're almost jumping the gun a bit here on a program that was just introduced, from the rationale that Mr. Coteau brought forward.

If he can shed more light on that, if he has more information, I'd appreciate it, Chair.

[Michael Coteau]

I appreciate the support in recognizing that it's good practice to shed light on programs that we put forward almost three years ago. There's a lot of indication out there that the program is very successful. It has gone into investing in infrastructure and programs that were not traditionally funded by government in the past, and there is a lot of learning.

Historically, the Black community in this country has been disproportionately funded in different programs, and a lot of the organizations that have come forward to access this type of funding have built new relationships with government. I know that seeing this shift in policy by government allows new organizations to take advantage of this type of funding. It's up to us as parliamentarians to look to see what works and to replicate and scale up.

These types of reports and insights into this type of funding allow us as parliamentarians to just do a better job. Again, traditionally, prior to this government, governments were not funding organizations at this level when it came to the Black community. There's a huge opportunity for us to figure out what's working and what's not working and to replicate and scale up.

I would appreciate your support on this.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Coteau.

We have Mr. Van Bynen and then Madame Ferrada.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

It's so appropriate that we consider this motion, particularly since we're in Black History Month and celebrating the contributions of our diverse communities.

I've had the opportunity to have direct dialogues with a couple of organizations in Newmarket and Aurora: the Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association and ABC, a community in Aurora.

Although they're aware of the programs, they're trying to get a better understanding of the revenue streams and the funding sources and how to access those funding sources, so I think it's quite appropriate that we take a look at the programs now and find out where we could make some improvements.

I'll be supporting that motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Van Bynen.

Madame Ferrada, you had your hand up. You have the floor.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I know the question wasn't meant for me, but I'd nevertheless like to respond to my colleague's comment.

The idea behind this motion isn't necessarily to see what does or doesn't work but rather to show that the program is working.

We want all racialized communities to be treated in the same way, but, in reality, that's not always the case. This kind of program is necessary precisely in order to help these communities get ahead and expand their businesses and to provide the necessary services to people who need them.

I hope this committee can examine this program and come to the conclusion that it's working well but that it will have to be further expanded in order to meet other needs in many other communities.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Ruff that we would like everyone to be treated fairly and equally, but that's unfortunately not always the case.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Madame Ferrada.

Is there any further debate on the motion by Mr. Coteau?

I see no raised hands, Madam Clerk, so we will move to a vote on the motion by Mr. Coteau. All members are clear on what we're voting on.

Before we begin, go ahead, Mr. Ruff.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

I'm sorry. I will double-check here. I haven't seen it in writing yet. Was it disseminated?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Yes.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

I'm good then.

(Motion agreed to: yeas 11; nays 0)

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Madam Zarrillo, you have the floor, and then Madame Ferrada.

Madam Zarrillo.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a motion to move to the floor, please.

That pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion and the Minister of Indigenous Services to update on progress on the strategy for the indigenous housing as the government committed to it in 2017; that the committee invite each of the ministers for one hour and the officials of both departments for one hour.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

The committee has heard the motion.

Is there any discussion on the motion?

Madame Ferrada, you have the floor.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We agree on the principle of the motion introduced by Ms. Zarrillo, but I'd nevertheless like to inform her that the minister will be appearing before the committee to discuss his mandate letter, that the committee has examined a lengthy study on the issue of housing in indigenous communities and that the minister will have to appear before the committee again concerning his report. That's included in the report's recommendations.

I wonder if Ms. Zarrillo could introduce this motion again, if need be, once the minister has appeared before us to discuss his mandate letter. I would encourage Ms. Zarrillo to reconsider voting on this motion now.

Having said that, I repeat that we agree on the principle of her motion.