COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on June 1st, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Back to Ms. Shin.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

What provinces are they in?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Chair, as I said, we have a contract with General Motors for the production of surgical masks—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Ms. Shin.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Are there any in any provinces besides Ontario and Quebec?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Chair, we have contracts with multiple provinces throughout this country for the production of personal protective equipment. We are committed—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Back to Ms. Shin.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

How many of these domestic manufacturers rely on supply chains in China?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Chair, we are dealing with a situation of very high global demand for the same product. As a result, we—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go back to Ms. Shin.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Will the Minister commit to providing my office with answers to these questions? Thank you.

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

I will commit, Mr. Chair, to continuing to work hard for Canadians to supply the personal protective equipment that they need. We have been giving updated numbers on our website—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go back to Ms. Shin.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I'm going to assume that answer is “no”.

Mr. Chair, the Prime Minister introduced the Canada student service grant on April 22. Students were told details would arrive in a matter of weeks. It's been over a month, the “I Want To Help” platform has no details yet about eligibility, levels of funding, or how to apply. Post-secondary students are already one-quarter into their summer break. When can students expect to start applying for the CSSG so they can receive their grants?

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The honourable minister.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth]

Mr. Chair, I'm pleased to share that students can anticipate more programs coming out as soon as possible. The “I Want to Help” website will be launched. Students can already apply for Canada summer jobs if they go to jobbank.gc.ca. By visiting Canada.ca/coronavirus, you'll see a suite of programs to ensure that students and young people are able to succeed. The coronavirus will not win, and our government will continue investing in our leaders of today and tomorrow.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The next set of questions goes to Mr. Brassard.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Last week the President of the Treasury Board wrote a letter to his cabinet colleagues in which he said that, as the federal minister responsible for public access to government information, he has advised his cabinet colleagues of the need for transparency and accountability, even in times of crisis.

My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. Does she agree with the President of the Treasury Board's directive?

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The honourable minister.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Chair, the government remains committed to maintaining the openness and transparency of our government during this challenging time. The Government of Canada, along with provincial and territorial governments, have implemented exceptional workplace measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, and to protect the health and safety of federal employees. These measures have had an impact on institutions' abilities to respond to access to information and personal information requests, since most employees are now working from their homes.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Frankly, I'm surprised that the answer is coming from that minister when the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities is in the House, but I will ask this question.

Can the minister tell Canadians who Pierre Lavallée is?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Treasury Board Secretariat has provided guidance to institutions to continue to make the best efforts to respond to Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requests and to provide published content—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go back to Mr. Brassard.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities tell us who Pierre Lavallée is?

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The honourable minister.