Finance Committee on Oct. 4th, 2017

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Could we come to order, please.

I just want to welcome everyone to this hearing of the Standing Committee on Finance.

Just to explain to the panellists who are here to start at 9:00, we have what we call an “open mike session”, which gives people the opportunity, either on an individual or organizational basis, to speak for one minute. It's almost like the House of Commons, where you get one minute to give a Standing Order 31 speech, and when you're one second over that minute, you're cut off. We won't be quite that strict, but we'll try to hold you pretty close to a minute.

We'll start with the open mike session on pre-budget consultations for the 2018 budget. What you say will go into the record and will be considered as part of those consultations.

We'll start with Ann Frost.

[Ann Frost, As an Individual]

Thank you.

I'm speaking to you this morning as a member of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network. We advocate for women and children in sub-Saharan Africa, and we're asking Canada to commit $260 million to the Global Partnership for Education for their three-year replenishment period.

A hundred million children in sub-Saharan Africa do not attend school, and many who attend school don't have a quality educational experience because of the lack of trained teachers and supplies, inadequate buildings, and outdated curriculum.

The Global Partnership for Education is in a unique position to assist in improving educational access for children in developing countries. They provide funding so that countries can build schools, train teachers, create strong curricula, and address the many barriers that children, especially girls, face in accessing a quality education.

Access to a quality education should not depend on the lottery of birth. Canada can assist in making education a reality for all children in the world by agreeing to commit $260 million to the Global Partnership for Education.

Please make education a priority for all.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Ann, and for sticking pretty well to time. In this session, I might say, we don't get into questions from members. They take notes, and that's it.

Raymond Frost, the floor is yours. Welcome.

[Raymond Frost, As an Individual]

Good morning.

I speak to you today as an educator, and on behalf of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network. I also ask Canada to commit $260 million to the Global Partnership for Education over the next three years.

A hundred million children, the majority of whom are girls, are out of school in sub-Saharan Africa. The possibilities are endless when girls and women have the education and skills they need to live in a world where they are fully in control of their lives.

Educated societies are needed if we are to have the skills to solve some of the challenges of the 21st century: climate change, food security, improving economies, and ending poverty.

The Global Partnership for Education can help make this happen by helping developing nations build schools, train teachers, and provide access to quality education. Canada can help the GPE make quality education a reality for all children by committing $260 million to the GPE over the next three years.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Raymond.

Erin Arnold.

[Erin Arnold, As an Individual]

Honourable members, where would you be without your education? Well, 130 million girls are out of school. If they were a country, they would be the 10th largest. Think about that lost potential.

Canada contributes about 2¢ per Canadian per day to global education. According to the education commission, it's indispensable to double our contribution if we want to close the gap and provide every girl with the opportunity to go to school.

We know the facts. Education is one of the most powerful interventions, and it's fundamental to breaking the cycle of extreme poverty.

This means that just 2¢ more, and Canada can lead the way in helping to educate 130 million engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors, and perhaps our next world leaders or finance ministers.

Today we ask Canada to contribute to the Global Partnership for Education in 2018, so we can help millions of girls in the poorest countries get the education they need. That's my two cents.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you, Erin.

Sharon Gregson.

[Sharon Gregson, As an Individual]

Thank you.

Good morning. I have to say, this is the closest I've come to speed dating in quite some time.

I also have to comment on how bizarre it feels to come here this morning and present to an all-male panel of members of Parliament. Frankly, as a woman in Canada, I am fairly upset with that state of affairs, and I shall be letting the Prime Minister know.

I am here representing the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of British Columbia. You probably know that the federal government is signing multilateral and bilateral agreements on child care with the provinces. B.C.'s share over the next three years is $50 million a year. While it is very good to see the federal government step up and recognize its role in child care in this country after 16 years of not being present in those conversations, the amount that's being dedicated at the moment is woefully low and only perpetuates the current framework, which is a patchwork, rather than making the full change that families need.

The quick recommendations for you to consider are to ensure that you recommend $1.2 billion in 2018 for early learning and child care, with annual increases; that the funding be to build a system, not for individual vouchers to families, which don't build a system; that the investment be in the not-for-profit and public spheres, because, after all, kids are not for profit and child care in the market has been a failure; that there be investment in the ECE workforce; and that there be meaningful consultation with advocates.

In British Columbia, we have something called the $10aDay child care plan, a plan ready to be implemented, and we need the federal government to step up so that our province can move forward to implement that plan.

I ask you to consider the role of early childhood education and early learning for the future of Canada.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you, Sharon.

Next is Dawson Markle.

[Dawson Markle, As an Individual]

Thank you, and good morning.

I am here today as a volunteer on behalf of Engineers Without Borders Canada.

In budget 2018, we ask that Canada commit to a timetable of predictable annual increases to the international assistance envelope to bring Canada's development assistance to 0.31% of GNI within this government's first mandate.

Canada's current level of development assistance is 0.26% of GNI, which is the lowest in recent history. While development assistance globally has increased by 9% in the past year, according to the OECD, it is disappointing that Canada's own contributions have declined by 4%.

Increasing aid would help Canada achieve its sustainable development goals and increase economic growth. Forthcoming research on the Canadian international development platform suggests that countries receiving development assistance are more likely to import greater quantities of Canadian goods, compared to those that don't have aid.

We hope that budget 2018 can correct this downward spending trend so that Canada can fulfill its global commitments.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you, Dawson.

Next is Lucia Rincon.

[Lucia Rincon, As an Individual]

Good morning.

I am speaking to you this morning on behalf of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of British Columbia, specifically about how this child care crisis is affecting families, children, and our communities.

Families urgently need child care that is universal, quality, and inclusive—an integrated child care system. To this purpose, the $10aDay program, I believe, is the best way to go.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thanks very much, Lucia; and thanks to all who presented. I know one minute is a fairly short period of time, but we do take your points seriously.

With that, we have all our people here for the panel. Before we start, thank you for coming as witnesses, and for any who managed to present a pre-budget submission prior to the August deadline, which seems a long time ago now, we appreciate those submissions as well.

To give you a little overview of the members here on this committee, it is a subcommittee of the parliamentary committee. There are a number of members. We travel with seven people and not the full committee. I might mention that our female participant isn't able to travel on this leg with us.

In any event, I will ask the members to introduce themselves and where they come from, so you'll know the cross-section of the country we represent.

I'm Wayne Easter. I'm a member of Parliament from Prince Edward Island, the riding of Malpeque. If you have good oysters out here, that's where they come from. I'm a member of the government party.

Pierre-Luc, do you want to start, please?

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My name is Pierre-Luc Dusseault and I represent the Quebec riding of Sherbrooke. I am a member of the New Democratic Party of Canada. I was pleased to hear such good ideas earlier. I also look forward to hearing the ideas of the people in this group.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Pat.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

I'm Pat Kelly. I'm a member of Parliament for Calgary Rocky Ridge and a member of the Conservative caucus.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Dan.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Thanks for having me. I'm Dan Albas from Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola. It's wonderful to be in Vancouver. I'm looking forward to all the panels today. Thank you to all the people who came and presented. The open mike is a wonderful thing.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm looking forward to today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Michael.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Hi. My name is Michael McLeod. I represent the Northwest Territories. I'm a member of the Liberal Party, and I think I'm the newest member of this committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Francesco.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Good morning. I would like to welcome everyone.

I'm Francesco Sorbara. I represent the wonderful and dynamic riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, bordering the city of Toronto. I've been a member of this committee from the outset, and I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback. I'm also a proud father of two young girls. They miss their daddy.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Greg.

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Hello. I am Greg Fergus and I am the Member of Parliament for Hull-Aylmer, which is on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River.

Just to let our witnesses know, please have your translation devices ready.

In fact, Mr. Dusseault and I will be speaking French.

Also I would like to thank very much the members of the public who came forward. I appreciate having the open mike. It was very good to have your comments, especially on early child care. I appreciate that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you to all.

We'll turn to our first witness. Please keep it to around five minutes. We have only five panellists today, although yesterday we had seven, so we're probably okay to ease off a little on the time.

From the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation, we have Mr. Schemmer, who is co-chair of the board of directors.