Thank you and welcome, Minister, to the finance committee.
Since this is another omnibus bill that affects matters far beyond the world of finance that you've referenced, I want to talk about something quite different and quite distinct, if I may.
I have a question that begs another question. Namely, why are health and safety protections that are found in the Canada Labour Code in a budget bill in the first place?
Minister, my specific question is on something very troubling that was just brought to our attention. It appears that departmental officials at the human resources committee might have provided misinformation. My colleague, the member for Newton–North Delta, asked how many refusals of unsafe work resulted in some sort of enforcement action. Officials told her the “administrative data doesn't allow us to make that direct link”. However, this committee has just been provided with evidence that that claim is not true. Somewhere between 45% and 52% of work refusals could result in an enforcement action.
Minister, could you explain why officials presented only the fact that 20% of refusals result in a finding of danger while failing to tell us that nearly half of refusals result in an enforcement action?