Finance Committee on Oct. 6th, 2016

[Raj Grewal, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My name is Raj Grewal, member of Parliament for Brampton East, just outside of Toronto.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

I'm Jennifer O'Connell, member of Parliament for Pickering—Uxbridge, which is on the other side of Toronto, in Ontario.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

It's noticeable that they say “outside Toronto”. They don't want to—

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Also, everyone knows where it is.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I'm Steve MacKinnon, member of Parliament for Gatineau, Quebec, just across the river from Ottawa.

[Ron Liepert, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

I'm Ron Liepert. I'm the Conservative member of Parliament from inside Calgary, the Signal Hill constituency, and proud of it.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

I'm Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative member of Parliament for Edmonton Manning in northeast Edmonton.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

I'm Niki Ashton, member of Parliament for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you all.

We have the clerk and analysts at the front.

Starting with Economic Development Winnipeg Inc., we have Mr. Dandewich.

[Greg Dandewich, Senior Vice President, Economic Development Winnipeg Inc.]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I really appreciate having the opportunity to present on behalf of Economic Development Winnipeg.

I have some introductory comments and then I'm certainly looking forward to the Q and A sessions during the period of time that we have around the table this morning.

Economic Development Winnipeg is an arm's-length agency, funded by the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, and the private sector. We also access program funding through the invest Canada-community initiatives funds, or ICCI, and through Western Economic Diversification Canada.

We are mandated to deliver economic development and tourism services for the City of Winnipeg, which include business retention and expansion activities; and business attraction, particularly through foreign direct investment, or FDI, activities. We conduct strategic research on the Winnipeg regional economy and the key industry clusters within our market.

Effectively, we are the boots on the ground to bolster Winnipeg's economy through job growth, new investment, and increased visitation.

Leading think tanks, including the Brookings Institution, the McKinsey institute, and the Conference Board of Canada, have all identified the rapidly changing role that city economies are playing in the global economy. Subsequently, it's critically important that strong networks of collaboration exist between economic development agencies and the federal government so that we can align our efforts to reflect government policy direction designed to stimulate economic growth and prosperity across Canada.

However, in many instances, the capacity, at the city level, to advance these policy objectives is limited due to a lack of access to sufficient resources. The legacy of fragmented federal programs to support economic development activities, specifically through regional development agencies, needs to be addressed. Operational and support resources from the federal government to city or regional organizations involved in business retention, expansion, foreign trade, and investment are limited and inconsistent, and they do not let cities take advantage of their individual strengths.

Economic Development Winnipeg is a founding member of the Consider Canada City Alliance, or the CCCA. This alliance is made up of the economic development agencies of Canada's 12 largest metropolitan regions. Collectively, the CCCA members represent 57.3% of Canada's population, produce 63.4% of its GDP, and have accounted for 82.5% of Canada's GDP growth in the last five years.

It's important that the federal government recognize the role that the large cities in Canada play in the national economy.

We applaud the efforts of the federal government and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development in recognizing the importance of innovation through Canada's innovation agenda, in the cluster and asset mapping initiative, and national cluster mapping portal to support innovation networks and clusters. However, we want to ensure that the economic development agencies, such as ours, are used as a resource and sounding board based on our in-depth knowledge of industry clusters, innovation ecosystems, and the capacity issues within our communities in the area of skilled labour and investment.

Economic development agencies are equipped with programs for the handling of investors through the investment life cycle, business retention, and expansion programs to identify new investment opportunities for existing investors, and soft-landing programs to support new investors. However, neither collectively through the CCCA nor through the individual member organizations do they have access to the financial resources to fully exploit their potential to grow the Canadian economy.

We are the boots on the ground. We believe that federal policy objectives focused on creating greater prosperity for Canadians become more impactful when the economic development agencies representing metropolitan regions have a capacity to support those objectives.

I would like to close my comments by also raising another issue.

Fundamentally, all communities across Canada are struggling to be able to access the right type of data in order to effectively compete with one of our largest market players, the United States.

Recently a report was commissioned by Global Affairs Canada and conducted by the Conference Board of Canada. It identified significant gaps with respect to Statistics Canada being able to put the right information into the marketplace so that an appropriate comparative analysis could take place for companies looking to invest either in the United States or in Canada. Unfortunately, we're losing out on opportunities because we don't have the correct information.

Simply put, I would say that it's critically important to look at Statistics Canada, to look at how information is being collected, and to look at where those gaps presently exist.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much for that presentation.

Next up is the Business Council of Manitoba.

Go ahead, please, Mr. Leitch.

[Don Leitch, President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Council of Manitoba]

Thank you very much. Good morning.

The Business Council of Manitoba is very pleased to have this opportunity to participate in the pre-budget consultations. We represent the CEOs of more than 70 leading corporations headquartered in Manitoba.

The council is non-partisan in our outlook. Our interest is in contributing positively to shaping policy that fundamentally impacts our businesses, and the livelihoods of the tens of thousands of Manitobans employed in our member businesses. We believe our suggestions can lead to a more competitive economy, allowing businesses and individuals to prosper, and governments to benefit from the wealth and employment created. A rising level of prosperity throughout is our overall objective.

The starting point for a prosperous economy is to have a sound, stable fiscal framework. We believe it is important to set a target, and over time, to pursue a balanced budget. Occasional deficits to provide stimulus can be a useful tool. However, continual deficits place us in an increasingly precarious position. I point to our current situation in Manitoba as an example of a very serious deficit situation.

We must be competitive as a country where the business climate—and we define that as including taxes, regulations, access to skilled labour and capital—is on par with competing jurisdictions. To emphasize the point, if these conditions are not present, the ability of our homegrown businesses in Canada and Manitoba that now generate tens of thousands of jobs is compromised.

A key factor in our ability to compete is to have an educated and skilled workforce. Many businesses continue to confront shortages in key areas, particularly the sciences, engineering, and business. We suggest that there are three parts to securing a workforce to help carry us forward. Our post-secondary system is serving us well, but we need to ensure that it is more effective at graduating students equipped with the skills required in our economy.

Second, we have relied on immigration and the provincial nominee program to address skill shortages. That reliance will continue into the foreseeable future. The federal and provincial governments should expand the nominee program and allow greater provincial flexibility, in partnership with employers, to address the unique regional differences and requirements.

The third component of addressing our needs for an educated workforce is to more fully engage our youth, particularly our indigenous youth, and ensure they have opportunities to participate in our future. Businesses struggle for skilled workers while young indigenous people seek work. We have the opportunity to engage this growing segment of our population more fully, if we strengthen our efforts to ensure educational outcomes for indigenous students are on a par with the rest of the student population. In Manitoba, we have one of the highest proportions of indigenous citizens. The federal and Manitoba governments must strategically co-operate to implement an integrated strategy, from education through to economic development, with the goal of ensuring our indigenous citizens are equipped with the skills to share in building our future and have the opportunity to invest in their own enterprises. We want them to be leaders, not just employees.

Canada is built on trade. Manitoba is a province that is built on trade. Our economy is considerably larger than if we relied on our small Manitoba market, or even our Canadian market. Many millions of jobs, and a third of our GDP, are directly trade-dependent. Allowing access to our market and gaining access to international markets will support our future growth.

We believe that we should be open to enhanced trade. Domestically, we continue to advocate for speedy improvements to the agreement on internal trade that is now being considered by the premiers. We support the Canada-EU trade agreement, and in principle, we support the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP would provide increased access for Manitoba exports of agricultural and value-added products, as well as manufactured goods. In the absence of the TPP, should that come about, we suggest that Canada should pursue a bilateral agreement, as a priority, with the most significant Asian member of the TPP group.

The federal government has allocated significant funding for innovation. The national innovation agenda should build on regional strengths and opportunities that take advantage of the existing partnerships and collaborations. One such Manitoba example is called EMILI, enterprise machine intelligence and learning initiative. This is at the leading edge of innovation in our nation. EMILI represents a unique partnership of businesses, universities, colleges, the Province of Manitoba, and hopefully the federal government. The initiative will advance machine learning innovation in support, in part, of our manufacturing sector and our competitiveness. We suggest that it should be a national priority.

In terms of infrastructure, over the next decade, we as a nation will be making very significant investments in infrastructure, almost unprecedented. We support infrastructure and transportation investments that enable private sector investment, export growth in trade, and improved productivity and competitiveness. We advocate a focused, strategic approach to investment that includes trade-based, strategic infrastructure investment; innovation and incorporation of technology; and community sustainability and prosperity.

I want to give one Manitoba example. Annually, $25 billion in goods drawn from across western Canada flows across the Manitoba-U.S. border. This trade corridor, including the border-crossing facilities at Emerson, Manitoba, require additional trade-related investment, which would include the incorporation of new technology to facilitate the commercial and individual movement across the border. That border crossing is federal and the highways are provincial. On the U.S. side, the facilities are federal and the highways are generally state. Therefore, amazing co-operation is essential, but that is the single largest border impediment to enhanced Canada-U.S. trade in western Canada.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Don.

We'll turn to Mr. Mazier, from Keystone Agricultural Producers.

Welcome, and the floor is yours, Dan.

[Dan Mazier, President, Keystone Agricultural Producers]

Thank you.

Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for inviting us here today to provide our recommendations for the 2017 budget. My name is Dan Mazier, and I am the president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, or KAP for short.

KAP is Manitoba's general farm organization. We work on behalf of all farm families in the province, taking direction from our members, which include individual farmers and commodity groups.

I want to stress that farmers are small business owners who significantly contribute to Canada's economy. Primary agricultural producers have created more than 275,000 jobs for Canadian workers, and the agrifood sector as a whole is responsible for employing one in eight Canadians. Agriculture's financial contribution to the economy is equally important, representing over $108 billion of Canada's GDP in 2014.

Because of our competitive and ambitious producers, Canada is in a position to capitalize on increasing demands for food, as the world population grows. Our producers are also equipped with the skills and ingenuity needed to meet growing domestic consumer demands for new agrifood products. We are certain that great opportunities exist, and we ask that you consider the four recommendations we are about to make.

The first is to support farm families and new farmers. Farming operations now require greater start-up and ongoing capital investments, so we see few younger farmers. In fact, the average age of farmers is 54 right now. Additionally, many young people are moving away, leaving older farmers unsure about who will take over the family farm.

Undertaking effective tax planning is crucial to the continuation of family farming in Canada. We urge that the rollover provisions regarding family farm transfers be amended to recognize the full breadth of family relations relied upon to maintain family farms. We also advise that family farm corporations be provided with a level playing field when transferring their businesses to the next generation. This includes access to the capital gains exemption and ensuring siblings can access the same provisions as other family members.

Our next overall recommendation is support of clean technology and innovation in agriculture. Several opportunities exist for producers to do this, but they need support. Canadian farmers have already demonstrated their willingness to adapt to climate change and embrace sustainability, and they already make investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve water quality, and reduce the use of inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides. However, many new technologies are expensive, and without government supports they are viewed as too costly to invest in. For this reason, we urge you to develop and support incentives, such as tax credits or rebates, which will make cleaner technologies more accessible to producers. Additionally, we urge you to consider making greater investments in the research and data collection needed to inspire and support clean technology development. As well, a national strategy is needed, one that includes federal investments in research, commercialization, and incentives for the adoption of technologies.

Our third overall recommendation is supporting access to new markets for Canadian agricultural products. There are remarkable opportunities to improve international and domestic market access and reach, but in order for these opportunities to be realized, government and producers must jointly develop a strategic market access vision. We must also develop plans to address labour shortages in the agricultural sector and infrastructure weaknesses that limit our ability to meet market demands and trade objectives. We would also like to see the federal government continue to take a leadership position on, and make investments in, further opening up internal trade to ensure greater domestic market access for agricultural products.

Our final recommendation is support of technology upgrades and access in rural areas. In order to effectively market their goods, have access to services that ensure safety, and stay abreast of emerging issues and technologies in agriculture, producers must have access to high-speed Internet or broadband Internet service. They, and other rural residents and businesses, must also have access to the reliable cell services that our urban counterparts have.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members, for this invitation and your time. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much.

We now turn to the Canola Council of Canada and Mr. Innes.

[Brian Innes, Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, members.

Thank you for the invitation to be here today to share the canola industry's recommendations on how the Government of Canada can increase economic growth.

It's a pleasure to be with you here today in Winnipeg, a place rich in canola history. It was here in 1974 that Baldur Stefansson invented the first canola variety. It was an important step in the birth of canola, a crop that's become one of the most valuable sources of income for farmers and a major driver of economic growth here in Canada.

It all started with Canadian innovation. Innovation led to more growth, and the result is a globally competitive industry that supports a quarter of a million Canadian jobs and $19 billion in economic activity every year.

Today, I'd like to describe how we can support even more growth in urban and rural communities across the country, but first I'd like to explain a bit about the Canola Council of Canada and our industry.

We are a value-chain organization representing the canola industry, including the 43,000 canola growers; the seed developers; the processors, who turn canola seed into oil for humans and meal for livestock; and the exporters who process canola at its destination.

Our industry has a plan to meet the growing appetite in the world for healthy oils and protein. Keep It Coming 2025 is our vision to provide more demand for canola oil, meal and seed, and to meet that demand through sustainable production and increased yields so we can get 26 million tonnes of production by 2025.

While our industry is working hard on achieving these objectives, there are key roles for the Government of Canada to play. Today, I'd like to focus my comments on three recommendations: first, supporting adequate investment in the agricultural policy framework; second, embedding agriculture in the federal government's innovation action plan; and third, implementing free trade agreements and expanding market access.

Our first recommendation is to provide adequate funding for the agricultural policy framework. Said to begin in 2018, planning is already well under way. It's important that we keep funding research, market development, and market access in the way that's worked so well in the current framework. For example, through the AgriMarketing program, we've established canola oil promotion programs in China and Korea. It's helped us grow our annual exports to these markets by about $850 million per year, and it's enabled us to do things like bring chefs from China and the southern United States out to prairie canola fields to show them where canola comes from. Stable funding for the next agricultural policy framework will enable us to continue innovative research and to continue bringing value to Canada from international markets.

Our second recommendation is to embed canola and agriculture in the innovation action plan. Market pressures are evolving. Climate change is creating opportunities and challenges for agriculture. Innovation is necessary for us to keep turning sun, soil, water, and Canadian know-how into Canadian growth.

As the federal government engages with Canadians on its action plan, there's a clear opportunity to include agriculture. Canola was born from innovation, and our industry's innovation strategy identifies ways the federal government can help encourage that innovation in the future. For example, budget 2017 can invest in federal sciences in emerging areas like genomics and molecular plant breeding. The result will be higher yields, more resilience to challenging weather conditions, and better pest management for things like insects.

Our last recommendation is to implement trade agreements and expand market access. While canola was born here in Winnipeg, we export more than 90% of what we produce to international markets, either as seed or as oil or as meal. Exporting canola free of trade barriers brings more value and more growth here to Canada. In fact, it was two weeks ago today that we achieved stable access for our canola trade with China, a very positive announcement for canola and for Canada. Government and industry efforts achieved this stable access for a $2-billion market. It shows the importance of these efforts and the importance of continuing to fund them through things like the market access secretariat of Agriculture Canada.

However, we're not done yet. Implementing the Trans-Pacific Partnership would bring even more growth. If we achieve this agreement, it means we could expand our exports and our value-added processing here in Canada. If we don't, we will fall further behind competitors like Australia.

In closing, canola shows how innovation can meet growing international demand and create growth here in Canada. The federal government has a key role to play in supporting the next agricultural policy framework by including agriculture in the innovation action plan, implementing free trade agreements, and supporting more market access.

I thank you for the opportunity, and I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you, Brian.

We're turning now to Ms. Constant with the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

[Carolynn Constant, Enhanced Service Delivery Case Worker, Opaskwayak Cree Nation]

Good morning.

By way of introduction, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation is a first nations community located six hours north of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The total membership is over 5,000, with over 3,000 on reserve. OCN is located on the north side of the Saskatchewan River, directly across from the town of The Pas. OCN has an original land base of 14,000 acres, with pending treaty land entitlement for an additional 56,000 acres. The first nation has $40 million in community and business assets, with more than 400 jobs created. The first nation employs nearly 600 people in total and is one of the largest employers in the region.

In terms of social concerns, in comparison of the dependency rate, the town of The Pas had an unemployment rate of 4% during the Tolko era, and the dependency rate for OCN was at 41% of the population. This rate was 10 times greater than the town of The Pas, with only a river separating us. Youth between the ages of zero and 18 years are 43% of the population; or when you expand it to zero to 30 years, 65% of our on-reserve population. Policies need to be made with effective developmental components in mind. The enhanced service delivery model is a good beginning. That's a federal program with Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

With regard to disability, I worked as a welfare administrator for three years and an employment training coordinator for 17 years. We carried out psychological testing on 10 trainees we had selected randomly, at a cost of $7,000. The purpose of the training was to determine whether there were any learning disabilities within our test group. We discovered that eight out of the 10 people tested had learning disabilities of varying degrees and they had tested below high school level. We wanted to test a greater number of people to determine a more accurate picture of our findings. The psychologist suggested that we select 100 people at random and have them tested, and this would give our findings credibility as well as giving us a more accurate picture of what more could be done in the way of training and education. We could not afford the $70,000 required to have this done and could not find funding designated for this purpose.

On rationale and values, OCN's human resource development strategy has a very basic mandate, which is that by developing individuals, these individuals can therefore be empowered to not only care well for themselves, but also their families and community. Additionally, by providing as many developmental opportunities as possible, the community and its members will benefit not only educationally and economically, but also become independent and self-sufficient.

In regard to training and educational resources, OCN has developed an innovative training and development program using very successful funding partnerships and linkages both within the first nation and with external funding sources. The annual budget was nearly $2 million for the first nation. The program utilized as many as four funding sources for one client. The annual budget utilized 11 major funding sources, and all have specific criteria outlines. This format made for a very complex overall program; however, OCN has successfully developed many programs utilizing the criteria from each of the funding sources.

The housing crisis on our first nation is having a very negative effect on our overall population. Incorporating a training element as well as forging funding partnerships, sweat equity in addition to training opportunities, would greatly help many sectors in the first nations communities.

Also, OCN was selected as one of 10 successful apprenticeship programs in Canada in 2007 by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum.

In terms of sharing best practices, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada has provided a funding program called “Income Security Reform”. Opaskwayak Cree Nation shared its employment and training programs and funding formulas with 40 other first nations, primarily in Manitoba. A comprehensive report was provided to INAC outlining each first nation's possible funding sources utilizing the social assistance work opportunities program, WOP, and the aboriginal social assistance recipient employment training agreement, ASARET.

The ministers of Indian affairs and northern development and of human resources development Canada signed a memorandum of understanding in 1990, authorizing the combining of these two funds. The MOU is referred to in the social development manual. However, this has since been changed, by disallowing the funding support for post-secondary education. This was interpreted by the INAC region to include college education under two years.

The other major hurdle is the documentation that is required to implement these programs at the first nations level, which is very complex and time consuming. The first nations human resources cannot sustain a level that is required to take advantage of these opportunities. Also, referring to the income security reform report from OCN, if the formulas could have been applied to each first nation in the MKO area, which is northern Manitoba, it would have provided an additional $7 million annually to the employment and training budgets from 2007, which would have totalled $63 million for additional training of 33 first nations.

With regard to industry and employment opportunities, a suggestion was proposed to put together a think tank of service providers at the first nations, provincial, and national levels. This think tank would have been given a mandate to consider the funding resources, economic opportunities, and human resource development in first nations communities.

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation, the Town of The Pas, and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey have formed a tri-council committee to discuss the development of new industries in the region, initiatives that will enhance new and innovative business opportunities, creating employment and economic growth as well. Perhaps a plan could be brought forward for the Tolko mill, mineral exploration, rail, and shipping transportation.

The Province of Manitoba has also entered into discussions to bring all levels of government together to discuss the development of a workforce to coincide with the growth of industry. An example is value added to a resource, such as the fishing resources. There are fish species, specifically the whitefish, being caught which are worth less than what it would cost a producer to ship through the Manitoba Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. This is an excellent species of fish. However, the market value is too low. What could be the process to add value to this product before it is shipped out? Right now it can't be shipped out.

Another example is the wild fur industry. Trappers cannot sustain this way of life because of the market value of the raw furs compared to the operating costs to produce them. Again, what could be the process to add value to this product before it's purchased by the raw fur buyers?

In conclusion, I'd like to thank the standing committee for this opportunity to present to all of you. We look forward to future dialogue and positive outcomes that will not only benefit our people, but benefit Canada as well. The demographic projections for the first nations population will be a major factor in our economy, both on-reserve and off-reserve, and with careful planning we'll ensure positive outcomes.

Thank you on behalf of Opaskwayak Cree Nation and the first nations of Manitoba.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Carolynn.

We'll be turning to the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and Ms. Hladun; and also Ms. Eschuk, Union of Canadian Transportation Employees. You're together, I understand.

Go ahead, Ms. Eschuk.

[Teresa Eschuk, Regional Vice-President, Prairies and the North, Union of Canadian Transportation Employees]

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada and its component, the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, is the union that represents the laid-off workers at the Port of Churchill. We want to share with you how, through privatization of public resources, consecutive federal governments failed a small northern Manitoba community.

I don't know what you know about Churchill, but it's a town of approximately 800 people. Living in this beautiful but isolated community is not always easy. You cannot drive to Churchill. The only way to get in and out is by train or plane. A loaf of bread costs $6, and a box of Corn Flakes is about $11. One of our members told us that it was much cheaper for her to pay the $140 train fare and buy groceries for her family in another town than shop in Churchill.

In the late 1990s, the federal Liberal government decided to privatize the transportation channels that service this community. They sold the Hudson Bay rail line to OmniTRAX, an American-based company that had no vested interest in Canada. As a show of good measure, the government threw in the Port of Churchill, the largest employer there, for a dollar. This was the first time the federal leadership let the people of northern Manitoba down.

Let's fast-forward to 2012. The Canadian Wheat Board, the body that ensured fair distribution of grain through the various Canadian ports, was closed by the federal Conservative government. Instead, big companies were allowed to build their own terminals at ports, and have redirected the shipping of grain through the east and west coasts. The end result is that farmers located in the middle of the country now have increased costs for shipping their grain, and Churchill, Manitoba, has seen a steady decrease in economic activity. This was the second severe blow dealt by the federal leadership that let the people of Churchill down.

This past summer, the people of Churchill were again smacked down when 10% of the population was made unemployed by OmniTRAX.

But this is Canada. When one of our own gets hurt, Canadians rally to help.

[Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President, Prairies Region, Public Service Alliance of Canada]

Prime Minister Trudeau said:

The federal government's role is to establish a process whereby industry can pitch a project, and Canadians can be reassured that this project is worth the risk....People understand we do need economic growth.

But what happens when the risk doesn't pay off? What is the federal government's role in supporting these communities? Does the federal government, who created the mess through privatization, not have a responsibility to show leadership on a solution?

PSAC and UCTE have been running a Support Our Port campaign to bring awareness to the economic challenges faced by the people of Churchill. Across this country, the media has helped Canadians to understand that this is not a regional issue but a national issue. They watch a small northern community fight for their home largely because of the federal government's privatization of a public resource. They know that if this can happen in Churchill, this can happen anywhere in Canada.

Throughout this campaign we have been asked questions. What's the government doing? What's the process when a federal government initiative, such as privatization of a port, fails? We have made repeated attempts to get this government to meet with us about the economic crisis in Churchill. We were bumped from department to department, minister's office to minister's office, and it wasn't until the media embarrassed the government before an official would speak to us about EI benefits for the affected people in Churchill. Again, it was thanks to the media that a federal cabinet minister finally spoke with us and actually went to see the community.

Minister Bains' recent funding announcement of $4.6 million into the community is very appreciated, but it's only a small drop in the bucket. This community needs a long-term strategy to help it be economically viable and stimulate growth.

Prime Minister Trudeau has spoken about the challenges of the north. However, unlike his predecessor, after a year in power he has yet to visit. We urge Prime Minister Trudeau to meet the people of Churchill for himself, to see the challenges they face and the economic opportunities that await in this magical community. We recommend that the Port of Churchill become a port authority with a board structure that reflects all the stakeholders. The Canada Marine Act does not specifically provide for aboriginal representation. However, we see it as an absolute necessity in order to be reflective of the community.

As the north opens up, Churchill is strategically placed for safety and security, for tourism and for commercial activities. The federal government must show leadership and return the Port of Churchill to public ownership. You have the power to do that. You can't ignore this. This is a national issue that is not going away.

Thank you for the opportunity to present. We look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you, and thank you to all the presenters.

Turning to the first round of questions, Mr. Grewal, you are first.

[Raj Grewal, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank to our witnesses for coming to present today.

My first question is to the senior vice-president of Economic Development Winnipeg Inc. What has been the growth of Winnipeg over the last two years?

[Greg Dandewich]

In terms of growth, we have seen some pretty unprecedented growth with respect to population, in particular. A lot of that is driven specifically by the immigration programs that we have. We don't have a lot of interprovincial migration. It's through immigration and refugees who are coming in and family reunification. It has really helped to grow the labour base and the pool, which has basically been able to feed into the various companies that act as the underpinning of our economy.

With that, the economy has shown some growth, but fundamentally we've been trying to figure out if in fact there is a particular objective coming from the federal government with respect to positioning Canada as a good place for foreign direct investment. What we have seen is that there is no trickle-down in terms of being the organizations that really are the first points of contact for any new companies that are either looking at investing in the marketplace—and specifically looking at the Winnipeg region—or companies that are looking to make new investments, as opposed to making investments outside of the country or the community.

Fundamentally, we've been moving in a good direction. We believe in the direction that's been set by the federal government, particularly with respect to growing the economy and changing the narrative in terms of how companies view Canada. It's not just a place to cut, drill, and dig. It's a place that looks at innovation and technology around all our diverse industry sectors, and a lot of that activity exists within the capital regions within those key major communities.

We are enthusiastic, based on the position that the federal government has taken, but we're trying to understand how it is that the first point of contact in dealing with companies, which are the economic development agencies, can help facilitate those objectives being set at a federal level.

[Raj Grewal, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Okay, thank you very much.

Do you have a projected growth rate for this year for the city of Winnipeg itself?