Finance Committee on March 19th, 2024

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Okay.

What kind of mandate change is coming with the establishment of the Canada water agency as an independent agency? What can Canadians expect in terms of government water policy, and changes to it, through the new organizational structure?

Are things largely going to be the same? Perhaps you could explain some of the differences you're anticipating.

[Gemma Boag]

That's a good question.

There are over 20 different departments and agencies in the federal government, as you may know, that have a responsibility for freshwater-related activities. In the proposed legislation, the Canada water agency would assist the Minister of Environment and Climate Change with the minister's freshwater-related responsibilities. More specifically, the mandate of the agency would be to work “to improve freshwater management in Canada by providing leadership, effective collaboration federally” with those 20-plus federal organizations “and improved coordination and collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to proactively address national and regional transboundary freshwater challenges”.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

What would be some of the mechanisms by which the new Canada water agency will achieve that better collaboration that haven't been deployed in the current structure?

[Gemma Boag]

The federal government already has strong relationships with the provinces and territories in some of those eight water bodies that I mentioned earlier. That will be a main focus for the agency's activities. We now have a larger investment in those water bodies, particularly the Great Lakes, that we'll be advancing very much in collaboration with provincial and territorial partners. I would say that's where you're going to see some of the more significant investment very much building on existing collaborative, highly functional relationships between jurisdictions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

MP Blaikie, we're well over time, so I'll put you in the next round.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Fonseca]

We're off to MP Lawrence now for five minutes, please.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Thank you very much.

My questions will be with respect to division 11 of part 5. If Mr. Peets and Ms. Boldt could take the microphone, that would be amazing.

While you sit down, perhaps I'll give a little bit of a preamble before my question.

My understanding is that division 11 enacts the department of housing, infrastructure and communities act, which is to create a new federal bureaucracy that will take over some of the responsibilities from the previous administration.

What's the total cost of creating this new bureaucracy?

[Gerard Peets, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Results Branch, Office of Infrastructure of Canada]

The act creates departmental legislation for the department of housing, infrastructure and communities. This is a transformation of the existing Department of Infrastructure Canada. The Department of Infrastructure Canada has existed since 2002 by order in council. This legislation provides a legislative basis, but that's not all it does. It also puts housing, infrastructure and communities together from a mandate perspective. Part of that happened with the movement of staff from the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada to Infrastructure Canada who are responsible for homelessness policy.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Thank you.

I appreciate your giving us the background. That was valuable.

What's the total cost of the change?

[Gerard Peets]

There is no revenue associated with this bill. It's about mandate and the responsibilities of the new department.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

There will be no additional costs because of the changes proposed in division 11?

[Gerard Peets]

That's correct.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Okay.

How many new houses will be created because of this change?

[Gerard Peets]

What this bill does is.... It's not about program interventions. It's not about measures to introduce new spending on—

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

With respect, one of the aims is to advance “public infrastructure and housing outcomes”. The reason that we're doing this is presumably to build more homes.

Is that not correct?

[Gerard Peets]

I think one of the distinctions I'd like to make is between the creation of a department with a certain mandate—one that, according to this legislation, will persist and provide the basis upon which governments of the day will institute their policies related to infrastructure and housing—and the policies themselves.

This is about the framework and government.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

I'm aware of that, but the reason why we put the framework in place is to build more houses. Is that not correct? Whether that is subsidized, private sector, affordable or unaffordable housing, the idea is to build more houses.

I'm asking a very simple question: How many more houses will be built by 2030 because of these changes?

[Gerard Peets]

That's a question that relates to government policy and program interventions, as opposed to the legislation.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Why are we doing this? Why are we making this change?

[Gerard Peets]

Why the government is proposing this change is to bring together things that are related and things where you can add value—

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

To—

[Gerard Peets]

—by treating things like infrastructure, communities, housing—

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Is not one of the outcomes to build more houses? Is that not one of the things we want to get done with this change?

[Gerard Peets]

What this legislation does is put the department on a footing to advance government priorities. One of the government's priorities is—