Finance Committee on April 1st, 2021

Evidence of meeting #32 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was pandemic.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Covid-19 spending and programs

Committee Business

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Éric Paquet Senior Director, Public and Governmental affairs, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec

Victoria Morton As an Individual

Kevin Ladner Chief Executive Officer, Grant Thornton LLP

Tara Benham National Tax Leader, Grant Thornton LLP

Clerk of the Committee Mr. Alexandre Roger

Donna Lee Demarcke Chief Executive Officer, Northwest Territories Tourism

James Cohen Executive Director, Transparency International Canada

Jean-Michel Ryan Chairman of the Board, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec

Judith Coates Co-Founder, Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors

Evan Siddall President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Dan Clement President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way Centraide Canada

Pascale St-Onge President, Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture

Brenda Slater Co-founder, Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors

Julien Laflamme Coordinator, Research and Women's Services, Confédération des syndicats nationaux, Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture

Nancy Wilson Co-Founder, Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors

3:50 p.m.

Chairman of the Board, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec

Jean-Michel Ryan

Mr. Johns, well-established companies are already having difficulty surviving the pandemic. We can well imagine that young companies will have even more difficulty, since they do not have a credit history and a record of financial performance.

I would like to remind you that we are entering the third wave. I just saw that Ontario is going to be in lockdown for another month. Quebec is in lockdown again in some places and other provinces will probably do so as well. As I mentioned earlier, we keep reopening and closing our doors. Some businesses can get through it, while others are on the verge of closing. With the third wave, if the programs are not in place or are not flexible, there will definitely be another major wave of closures.

As mentioned, this is not just in Quebec. In Canada, one in 10 jobs is in tourism. The borders are not yet open. So—

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

We'll have to end it there.

3:50 p.m.

Chairman of the Board, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec

Jean-Michel Ryan

Thank you.

3:50 p.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Thank you.

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

Mr. Falk and Mr. Fragiskatos will get to split about seven minutes.

Mr. Falk, go ahead.

April 1st, 2021 / 3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be turning my time over to Mr. Poilievre.

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

You have three minutes, Pierre.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Ms. Morton, have you been in contact with WE Charity lawyers or lawyers paid by WE Charity since Mr. Kielburger's testimony in March?

3:50 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

I had about a five-minute call with one of them.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Have they offered to provide you with legal assistance over at WE Charity, for your testimony?

3:50 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

They generically offered me support, which I didn't accept. I wanted my autonomy, and they respected that.

3:50 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

You spoke to just one of their lawyers, once, since that testimony.

3:50 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

I've had a couple of conversations with various people within the organization. I don't know of their connection to WE or to anybody else.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Right. I'm sorry, within which organization, then?

3:55 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

That information I'm not familiar with.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Sorry, I'm a little lost. You said you were in contact with several people within that organization. I asked which organization, and now you're saying you're not familiar with whichever organization you were referring to. Can you clarify which organization?

3:55 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

I'm not sure what connection everybody has to the organization at this point. I don't know who is a lawyer of WE, who is a lawyer of Craig, who is a lawyer of.... This is a web I'm not familiar with.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

This web that you've been in contact with from WE, they're lawyers for Craig or Marc or WE; you just don't know which part of the web they work for.

3:55 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

I wouldn't have visibility to that.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Okay, but it is a web, so when you say web, you mean people have called you from WE since he testified.

3:55 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

Yes. There's been the lawyer I had the conversation with.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Have you been offered any other employment or contractual opportunities at WE since you left?

3:55 p.m.

As an Individual

Victoria Morton

I have not.

3:55 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON

Thank you.

Do I have one last question left?

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter

You can ask a very quick one.