Finance Committee on May 9th, 2013

[Dean Beyea]

That's right. The vast majority, well over 95%, have been implemented or have been eliminated. There are a few textile tariffs that are being phased out to 2015.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. Thank you for that.

Ms. McLeod, please.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

You talked about a fairly extensive consultation process before these measures were introduced in budget 2013. To the best of your knowledge, did the Liberals or NDP submit any concerns or make any submissions on this issue?

[Dean Beyea]

I don't recall any submissions from any political parties.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you very much.

I appreciate your presentation, which clarified these issues for us.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Colleagues, just before I call officials, do we have questions on division 2 of part 3 dealing with financial institutions? Otherwise, I'm going to move on.

Do we have questions on division 3, dealing with the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act?

I'm told that we do have questions on division 4, so we will move to division 4, “Payments to Certain Entities or for Certain Purposes”.

We'll ask all the officials to come forward. This is one of the larger sections, dealing with payments to the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, Genome Canada, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nunavut Housing Corporation, Indspire, the Pallium Foundation of Canada, and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

I want to welcome all of our guests to the committee.

I'll have each of you introduce yourselves and tell us which department you're from. Then we'll go to questions from members.

[Helen McElroy, Acting Director, Health Human Resources Policy Directorate, Health Canada]

My name is Helen McElroy. I'm the acting director of the health human resources strategies division with Health Canada, and with me is Sharon Harper, from the continuing care unit at Health Canada.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

[Alison McDermott, Acting Director General, Program Coordination Branch, Department of Industry]

I'm Alison McDermott. I'm the acting director general of the program coordination branch at Industry Canada.

We're responsible for overseeing the funding agreement with Genome Canada.

[Raquel Fragoso Peters, Director, Policy and Liaison, Small Business, Tourism and Marketplace Services, Department of Industry]

I'm Raquel Fragoso Peters. I'm the director in the small business branch of Industry Canada.

I'm here to speak to the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

[Elisha Ram, Director, Microeconomic Policy Analysis, Department of Finance]

Good morning. I'm Elisha Ram. I'm with the economic development branch of the Department of Finance.

[Mary Taylor, Director, Habitat Conservation Management, Department of the Environment]

Good morning. I'm Mary Taylor. I'm the director of habitat conservation management with the Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada.

[Diane Cofsky, Director, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Good morning. I am Diane Cofsky, Director of Education Programs at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Welcome.

We will begin with members' questions on this division.

I'm going to go to Ms. McLeod, please.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

Hopefully I can run through a number of questions, so we can do a nice snapshot.

What kind of work and research projects does Genome Canada engage in, and do they receive funding from any other source? That question is for Ms. McDermott.

[Alison McDermott]

This is a not-for-profit corporation that invests in large-scale genomics projects in areas such as human health, fisheries, forestry, agriculture, environment, and energy. A large portion of the projects to date have been in human health, but there is certainly diversity within all of these other areas.

Yes, the federal government provides significant support to Genome Canada, but there have always been leveraging requirements, so Genome Canada has been supported by provincial governments and other organizations, such as the private sector.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

I believe this question would go to Ms. Taylor.

How does the Nature Conservancy of Canada work to conserve ecologically sensitive lands? What is the nature conservation program, and can you give us one example of their work?

[Mary Taylor]

The Nature Conservancy of Canada works with a scientific base. They do an evaluation of what the eco-sensitive areas within Canada are and where there are priorities for them to acquire land or some interest in land. They would then purchase or get an easement from a landowner, and then protect and conserve the ecological integrity of that land.

A well-known one would be the Flathead River Valley land in British Columbia, where, in partnership with the provincial government and a number of other organizations, they've managed to conserve quite a large area of eco-sensitive land.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

That's like the B.C. example.

What kind of programming does the Canadian Youth Business Foundation offer to help young entrepreneurs, and how many youth per year do they help with their services?

[Raquel Fragoso Peters]

The CYBF was established and the federal government has been providing funding since 2002. Their core activity is providing funding to youth entrepreneurs, who traditionally have difficulty accessing debt financing, so this is filling a gap. The success of the program is related to a strong mentorship program that results in low default rates. In the past year, the CYBF has provided over 498 loans to young entrepreneurs, and since 2002 it has helped establish over 5,600 young businesses.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Great. Thank you. Budget 2013 promises $100 million to Nunavut housing. Why is Bill C-60 advocating $30 million immediately?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

We welcome Mr. Vats to the committee.

[Nipun Vats, Director, Federal-Provincial Relations Division, Federal-Provincial Relations and Social Policy Branch, Department of Finance]

My name is Nipun Vats. I'm the director of the federal-provincial relations division at Finance Canada. I apologize for not being at the table. It's a bit crowded.

Basically, $100 million was committed in the budget, and $30 million for this fiscal year is being appropriated through the budget bill. Certain timelines are required to make sure that this money flows and that contracts can be done. If you waited for the supply bill process, it would be fairly late in the year before that money would be able to flow. For the next fiscal year, that money will be provided through the normal supply bill process. So there's $30 million in the budget bill and the $70 million for the next fiscal year will come through the supply.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I understand Bill C-60 allocates $5 million to Indspire. Who does Indspire help and how many people per year benefit?

[Diane Cofsky]

Good morning.

The Indspire Institute provides over 2,200 aboriginal students with scholarships every year. It receives significant donations from the business sector's various stakeholders and uses them to help students succeed. Thanks to this new investment, the Indspire Institute has promised to provide an additional $10 million and will be able to grant scholarships to thousands of other aboriginal students.