Finance Committee on Nov. 17th, 2023

[George Harvie]

I'd like to acknowledge the presence of our metro Vancouver MP, Peter Julian. It's good to see you again.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about the 2024 federal budget.

I'm George Harvie. I'm very proud to be the chair of Metro Vancouver and the mayor of the City of Delta.

I acknowledge with much gratitude and respect that we are located on the traditional territories of the 10 first nation communities within the metro Vancouver region.

Metro Vancouver is a federation of 21 municipalities, one treaty first nation and one electoral area. We are the regional body responsible for providing critical services such as drinking water, waste-water treatment, solid waste management, affordable housing and parks to 2.8 million residents. That's more than half the population of our province.

Over the next five years, we project capital expenditures of over $7 billion to ensure that the critical infrastructure that is so important to our everyday lives is in place. We're building and upgrading the infrastructure needed to serve the people currently living here and those who are coming to our region, and we must do our best to lessen the financial burden on our constituents.

In our many conversations with ministers and MPs, we've heard time and time again that the federal government is interested in partnering with us to deliver our shared goals related to affordability and responding to the housing crisis, as well as addressing climate resiliency. Budget 2024 presents an opportunity for the federal government to turn that interest into action. We have a dedicated partner in the Province of B.C. Now we need to see funding for our regional priorities in the next federal budget.

We simply cannot wait any longer for a federal commitment to our most pressing project, which is the Iona Island waste-water treatment plant. This is a massive project that will unfold over the next two decades. It must be done in order to meet the regulatory requirements of the federal government and protect the environment as mandated.

The plant will accommodate the projected growth of approximately 170,000 residents, basically within the City of Vancouver area, in addition to supporting 750,000 existing residents. The additional 170,000 residents cannot be accommodated with the current plant. The first phase of the project is expected to cost approximately $750 million over five years. The provincial government has already committed its $250 million to this phase. Metro Vancouver continues to seek a federal contribution of $250 million to phase one.

On the housing front, affordability is one of the most critical issues facing our region. Metro Vancouver is doing what it can to increase affordable housing supply through Metro Vancouver Housing.

Metro Vancouver Housing is one of the largest non-profit affordable housing providers in B.C., with close to 10,000 tenants. We are building as many units as possible, and we have a strong portfolio of projects ready to go. The province knows Metro Vancouver is a reliable and values-aligned partner, and it has invested $158 million and signed a memorandum of understanding to support the delivery of over 2,000 new units.

Now we need the federal government to match this support to complete this important work. Again, we are asking the federal government to contribute $166 million in financing and $40 million in forgivable loans, as well as to sign an MOU to help us deliver the portfolio of projects over the next 10 years.

In conclusion, Metro Vancouver is poised to support the federal government on several fronts, with housing-enabling infrastructure, with waivers for affordable rental housing and with the direct delivery of affordable rental housing. Help us help you.

The province is supporting Metro Vancouver as we face these challenges, and we need the federal government to do the same. While we have met frequently with your colleagues over the last few months and years and have received supportive responses to our requests, we have yet to see the much-needed funding commitments from the federal government.

Today, I hope you will offer your support for the metro Vancouver region, for the Iona project and for Metro Vancouver Housing.

Thank you so much for your time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, Mr. Harvie.

Now we will hear from Spirit Foundation Financial Technology Inc., please.

[Alex Holman, Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Foundation Financial Technology Inc.]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

If I lose my voice, I apologize, but with two toddlers at home bringing home all kinds of illnesses, seemingly on a daily basis.... I apologize.

Hello. My name is Alex Holman, and I'm the founder of Spirit Foundation Financial Technology Inc. We're a fintech company focused on reconciliation with indigenous peoples.

I'm here to share my experience of attempting to launch financial products that reflect the reality of Canada as a nation. The reality is that we are transacting on indigenous land and have stolen the value of that land to create financial products. All of this is being done while individuals living on reserve are unable to own their own homes, and they have their spending power continuously eroded by a fiat currency, the Canadian dollar, which is backed primarily by debt and low interest rates previously on that same stolen land.

We live in a world where just the performance-based bonuses for bankers in Canada are close to $20 billion per year. This is roughly half the size of the entire indigenous economy.

In January 2020, I connected with the Bank of Montreal after an incident that saw the arrest of Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter at their downtown Vancouver location. We spoke about everything I just shared with you and about the need for real reform in the financial sector. We discussed the idea of a digital asset, similar to Bitcoin, to alleviate the economic problems on reserve. Over the next three years, we would work on numerous projects, all of which eventually became dead ends.

In January 2023, BMO reached out and asked me if I would like to launch an Affinity credit card. After agreeing, we got to work on the program, which would be promoted at the indigenous summer games in Halifax. Features included sharing a portion of the interchange fees with indigenous-led charities, extra cash back for supporting indigenous-led businesses and, for the first time, traditional indigenous names on credit cards. We had strong partners supporting us who were willing to fund the marketing, and the card was set to launch in November 2023.

In May 2023, BMO shared that the Spirit-BMO Affinity card program was to be cut because of BMO's merger with California's Bank of the West. It asked if I'd be willing to stay on and work on the project for a few more years, without compensation and without a firm launch date. We never received any compensation from BMO. Internal dialogues at BMO failed to produce a positive result for the program.

We often wonder why Canada fails to innovate like other G20 countries. We wonder why our banking system is so expensive and why reconciliation is stalled with platitudes and broken promises. It's ventures like Spirit that are being cut in favour of corporate takeovers. We had ample evidence to suggest a large portion of Canadians are interested in reconciliation-focused financial products.

The failure extends beyond retail products and into capital markets as well. It's currently much easier to invest in clean-water infrastructure in places like Africa than it is on a reserve in your own province that's had a boil water advisory for up to 30 years.

We made attempts to ask the BMO capital markets team about how we might invest in some of the bonds that support first nations, and it actually didn't know how. We have zero innovation in Canada when it comes to connecting investors with first nations, Inuit and Métis communities. Most Canadians will go their entire lives with no economic relationship with their closest indigenous communities.

There is no difference between building a pipeline on indigenous land or using indigenous land to back financial products like mortgages. Indigenous peoples have a place in regulating, forming and ultimately seeing the value from financial products created on their unceded, traditional and treaty lands.

BMO is a 206-year-old bank that essentially invented the Canadian dollar. It operated as Canada's central bank all the way through Confederation up to the 1930s, while we were systematically destroying indigenous peoples' culture through the residential school system. It also financed the construction of the railway, which seized millions of acres of indigenous land.

Colonization didn't just happen. We needed to turn indigenous land into Canadian land and give that land value. We needed to entice millions of people from around the world to come to Canada and convince them that the land and the currency they were getting was real.

Despite all of these gains over the centuries, the refusal to launch a simple credit card supporting indigenous people is a disgrace, and more so that it's in favour of a $16-billion foreign bank acquisition that should have no effect on Canadian operations. Reconciliation in the financial sector is not about removing barriers to indigenous people in the workplace. That is called following the law, and making efforts to not discriminate against your own indigenous employees and customers is absolutely the bare minimum.

We need bold, decisive strategies focused on raising the standard of living on reservations to match that of the rest of Canada. I would implore the federal government that, when mergers and corporate takeovers are being discussed and looking for approval, innovative products and ventures supporting indigenous communities must not be cut.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, Mr. Holman.

Now we'll hear from The Mustard Seed.

[Treska Watson, Director, Operations, The Mustard Seed]

Thank you.

Good morning, members of the committee. Thank you for granting us the opportunity to address you today.

I sit before you to speak to the cost of living crisis we are currently facing in Canada.

The Mustard Seed began helping the homeless in 1975. Since that time, we have grown programming that now serves 75 additional non-profit agencies through our food rescue program. As well, we run a food bank, and we have meal programs and a hospitality centre for people seeking community and a hot meal. We are also partnering with Flourish School Food Society to deliver hot, scratch-cooked meals, cooked in our very own kitchen, to hundreds of school-aged children.

In 2022 we rescued 2.6 million pounds of food from grocery partners. Using Food Banks Canada's valuation of $3.52 a pound, that is over 9.1 million dollars' worth of food moving through our warehouse.

Every day our team is honoured to do this work and we know this food impacts tens of thousands, yet it is simply not enough. Since 2019, food bank use in Canada has increased 78.5%. Make no mistake—this is the highest level of food bank use in 40 years of operating in our country. Food Banks Canada's “HungerCount” revealed just under two million visits to food banks in March 2023 alone.

The cost of living in Canada continues to rise to unsustainable levels for many average-income earners, and these people are turning to food banks. In fact, for the first time, there are more employed people working full time who are accessing our services. The increase in working poor individuals and families has been one of the most concerning trends we've seen in 2023.

Simply put, the cost of living crisis has Canadians choosing to pay their rent instead of buying groceries, an impossible choice, with the reality of being unable to make ends meet. We are seeing more people than ever turning to food banks, and there is no indication that this is going to slow down anytime soon.

Thirty-three per cent of food bank users are children. While representing only 20% of our population, children are disproportionately affected by hunger, which has far-reaching implications for their development, learning potential and ability to thrive. That is why our region has been focused on developing a school meal program that currently feeds over 600 students.

In 2021 a commitment was made by the federal government in the mandate letters of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. We are still expecting the federal government to live up to the commitment in the 2024 budget.

I have included a proposal from the Coalition for Healthy School Food for the Government of Canada to work in partnership with provinces and territories, indigenous peoples and non-profit organizations to develop and implement a national school nutritious meal program and related school food policies in support of and in line with the evolving food policy for Canada.

A key factor in the success of these initiatives is that these programs need to be delivered by groups that understand the unique needs of the regions in which they operate. In short, funding needs to reach the local level. Otherwise, it is not as effective in delivering solutions that work.

In these trying times, food banks play an indispensable role in keeping food on the tables of millions. This is a monumental task, delivered largely by non-profits with incredible funding restraints. Multi-year funding for our food bank network is paramount. Most of these organizations are small and largely volunteer-driven. We appeal to donors for the bulk of our funding and leverage wholesale buying power where we can. Unfortunately, our donors are also struggling with these very same issues.

Considering “HungerCount 2023”, it is clear that for this sector there is no end in sight concerning these issues. We recognize that food banks are the proverbial canary in the coal mine for the cost of living crisis. I have forwarded supporting documents from Food Banks Canada with recommendations for a multipronged approach, which includes providing rental supports and increasing housing for post-secondary students, for instance.

As a fellow Canadian, I believe in our capacity to rise to the occasion, and I am fighting for a Canada in which no one goes hungry and every child has access to nutritious food.

In conclusion, the urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. I appeal to this esteemed committee to allocate the necessary funding for these initiatives in the 2024 federal budget, and I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your time today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

Thank you, Ms. Watson.

To all our witnesses, thank you for your opening remarks.

We'll get right into questions from members. Just so that everyone is aware, each party will have up to six minutes to ask questions in this first round of questions. I think every member will have an opportunity when they start to let others know where they're from and maybe share one factoid.

I'm Peter Fonseca, the member of Parliament for Mississauga East—Cooksville. It's serendipity that we're in the “Kitsilano” room. About 35 years ago I lived in Kitsilano for a year. It was a great time.

With that, we will get started on the questions.

MP Hallan, you have six minutes, please.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here and for their testimony.

I'm Jasraj Singh Hallan, the member of Parliament from Calgary Forest Lawn. I'm also the finance critic for the Conservative Party.

Ms. Watson, thank you for your work. I also have, proudly, in my riding a Mustard Seed that many users are seeing. Like you said, some of your testimony is very concerning. It's very alarming to see the state Canada is in today after eight years. We see more and more crime, chaos and disorder here, especially in B.C. Two million people are using a food bank in a single month in this country, 200,000 in B.C.

I want to get more of your thoughts here. Are you seeing a change in the demographics of the people who are using the food banks today?

[Treska Watson]

Absolutely. We're seeing increases across all demographics. All of those who we would consider traditional food bank users—newcomers to Canada, seniors, folks on disability—are increasing, but we're seeing a lot of double-income homes accessing food banks. That is one of the most concerning trends we've seen in 2023. It's been growing steadily since 2019, in fact. What that means to us is that two income earners in the home are still not able to make ends meet.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Is one of those concerns, especially from the folks who are double-income earners who are using the food bank, some of their monthly expenses and their costs in taxes?

[Treska Watson]

I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question?

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

For some of the double-income earners, is the increase in taxes and their monthly expenses one of the main reasons they're using a food bank?

[Treska Watson]

It's probably one of the reasons. Inflation overall in the cost of living is contributing. The cost of groceries is staggering. A lot of factors play into that. There's also low wages. I know that for the Victoria region, where I live, the living wage is now $25.49 per hour. Most organizations simply can't meet that.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Absolutely. That would also include, I would imagine, things like their monthly heating bills and their food, like you said. All these costs are going up on a month-to-month basis.

Recently we saw the government do a carbon tax flip-flop in Atlantic Canada—for about 3% of Canadians—where their numbers were very low in the polls. They gave a pause on the carbon tax to Atlantic Canadians, which represents 3% of Canada. The rest of the 97% of Canada did not get that pause.

Do you think it would be helpful and fair if everyone across Canada were able to get a pause on this carbon tax? Would it help some of the users of the food bank if those costs were lowered in their month-to-month expenses?

[Treska Watson]

I think anything that would help all Canadians would be very welcomed. I know that a lot of our groups and families and people accessing our services have to choose between paying their hydro bill or buying groceries. They're going to pay their hydro bill first. There's just simply no choice there.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Absolutely. We also know that this carbon tax is something that goes throughout the food chain. Are the food banks finding challenges with the amount of food they're getting now, because of the cost of groceries?

[Treska Watson]

Absolutely. Our programming relies heavily on rescued food from our grocery partners. We've tripled our grocery partners in the last three years, but that doesn't equal a tripling in the amount of food we're able to rescue. Grocers are always trying to reduce what they call their “shrink”. We are rescuing less and less food with the same amount of effort.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

The Conservatives have called for the carbon tax to be completely eliminated, which would help lower the cost of gas, groceries and home heating for everyone across Canada, and especially for the people who are making the food. Do you think that would have a positive impact on people's lives and on the people who use the food banks?

[Treska Watson]

Again, I think anything that would help all Canadians reduce their cost of living, whether it's through taxes or the cost of groceries, would certainly make a huge difference.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

In your opinion, what other measures can be taken to help lower food costs right now?

[Treska Watson]

That is a very big question. I'm not sure how to answer that.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

If we could help the people who are producing the food lower their costs and at the end of the chain help the people who are buying the food—whether it's a food bank, a donor or the people who are actually using the food banks—would that be helpful, in your opinion?

[Treska Watson]

Absolutely.

In our facility, we are focusing on local sustainable food systems. Being that we are operating on Vancouver Island, we're always looking at ways to create incentivization for farmers and local food producers, because we think that while that food may be more expensive in the interim, ultimately it's going to reduce the costs of delivering more food locally to more people.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Are you aware of Bill C-234?

[Treska Watson]

Somewhat....

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

This bill is supported by all opposition parties. It's a really good bill that would help our farmers to bring down the cost of food. It's been stuck in the Senate by some Liberal senators who right now refuse to get it passed. Do you have a message at all for those senators who are holding that up? Would you like to see that bill pass to help lower the cost of groceries?