Finance Committee on June 18th, 2019

[Leah Anderson]

I'll speak to that.

A year ago, we passed legislation with a very broad new consumer protection framework. That did three main things.

One was to strengthen the internal practices of banks themselves in dealing with consumer protection issues—for example, requiring them to better track complaints and then feeding that up to a special dedicated committee of the board of directors to talk about those complaints and broader consumer protection issues.

We also put in place more targeted consumer protection measures in terms of transparency and disclosure for our consumers, and alerts, for example, when you're going into an overdraft situation.

Importantly, we put in a number of new enforcement supervision powers for the commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency to oversee this broad, comprehensive framework. These include things like the power to administer meaningful administrative monetary penalties when the consumer protection legislation is breached and a requirement to publicly name the institutions receiving these monetary penalties. We sharpened their mandate, and because of the broad new responsibilities applicable to the internal operations of banks and a wider range of consumer protection powers, they have a much greater supervisory responsibility overall to ensure appropriate compliance with the legislation.

Given that this is quite a transformation—and just given the transformation, quite frankly, in the overall complexity and number of products in the marketplace—they have quite a responsibility to bring forward and execute on their mandate. The budget announcement was really to establish a council to help the commissioner in the execution of this business transformation process and to provide advice not too dissimilar to, say, what a board of directors provides to help guide their operational supervisory responsibilities.

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Thank you very much. Certainly it's something that this committee has heard a lot about. It has been very well received, especially by consumers. I have a lot of seniors in my riding, and they were very happy to see some of the work we're doing around this issue.

On pensions, I think it's around $197,000 to continue to protect Canada pensions. It's not a huge amount of money, but what exactly is that? What further steps are happening?

[Lynn Hemmings]

It's actually $150,000.

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Okay.

[Lynn Hemmings]

It's $50,000 each year for three years, and it's going to an organization called the National Pension Hub, which is tied to the Global Risk Institute. We will become a member of that group, and we'll have a say in the nature of academic research that's being done to inform our policy process as we try to improve retirement outcomes for Canadians.

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Oh, what a great forward-thinking opportunity for us. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Okay. Is that it?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

I'm good.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

We'll hear from Mr. Dusseault and then Mr. McLeod and then Mr. Poilievre.

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

I had the same question, but I didn't hear which group will receive the $50,000 over three years.

[Lynn Hemmings]

It's the Global Risk Institute that's getting it.

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

Is it an organization—

[Lynn Hemmings]

Yes. They're based out of Toronto.

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

So it's a Canadian organization.

[Lynn Hemmings]

Yes.

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

Okay, thank you.

My other questions concern transfers to the provinces, particularly health transfers.

You'll recall that the Liberals heavily criticized the Conservatives for changing the percentage increase in health transfers, year after year. Yet, once in power, the Liberals kept the same scale for health transfer increases.

A $40.3-billion transfer is being proposed for 2019-20, compared to $38.5 billion in 2018-19 and $37.1 billion in 2017-18. Can you give us an idea of the annual percentage increase? Does it reflect the agreement made with the provinces?

[Suzy McDonald]

Thank you for the question.

There was a 3.9% increase in 2018-19, and a 4.6% increase in 2019-20.

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

Does this honour the agreement made with the provinces a few years ago?

[Suzy McDonald]

Yes.

We use a three-year moving average of the nominal gross domestic product. That was what was agreed to, and that's how we make the calculation.

This is how the calculations are done every year. That's why the health transfer increase is similar to the increase in other programs, such as the equalization program.

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

Okay, thank you.

I have a question about a negative amount.

It's listed as “Youth Allowances Recovery”.

This negative amount still totals $932 million. The budget item was established under the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Revision Act, 1964.

Could someone explain this negative amount to me?

[Suzy McDonald]

I'll be the one answering again. There's a long history behind this.

Back in the 1960s, provinces and territories had the ability to use opt-out arrangements. Quebec had an opt-out arrangement for a funding program for which they had already provided funding for 16- and 17-year-olds. Essentially, when the government introduced a similar program, they then allowed Quebec to use tax points to fund that program instead.

The program has evolved. Quebec makes annual payments to the Government of Canada, because when we expended the program to include all Canadian youth, Quebec allowed the feds to make the transfers directly. Essentially it's just a recovery that happens every year. The amount is collected from Quebec in two instalments. The first 50% is estimated in the first working day—typically April 1 of the fiscal year—and the second installment happens before the next April 1 of the next year.

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

That's interesting.

Do I have any time left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

You're out of time, but I see you have one more, so go ahead.

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

I have a question about stock options.

Mr. Marsland, we've seen the ways and means motion. As a result of this motion, can we expect a bill to be tabled by the end of the week?

[Andrew Marsland]

You'll appreciate, Mr. Chair, that I don't make decisions on the tabling of legislation. I really can't comment on that. That's a decision for the government.