Evidence of meeting #31 for Finance in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was gofundme.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you, MP Baker. That's the time.
Members, I'm looking at the time. We have approximately 12 minutes left. As we do when we have limited time in our final round, we will divide it equally. We're looking at about three minutes per party.
We'll start with the Conservatives.
MP Albas, you're up for three minutes.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Volpe, I'll start by saying happy birthday. I'm sorry you have to spend it with me. I wouldn't want to spend my birthday with me, but I have to.
I'd like to talk to you a little bit about the mandates and some of the experiences of your organization. Ultimately, the Windsor-Detroit bridge was cleared under provincial provisions, not federal. Is that correct?
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
It was cleared under orders from an injunction that we sought in superior court in Windsor.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
So you went alongside with the City of Windsor, as well as the province, and then a court order was sought. You received that, and that's when the authorities came in. Is that correct?
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
Sure. We went as the plaintiff, and then a day later the city and the province joined the injunction.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Okay. That's fair enough.
You mentioned that there were existing authorities under the Highway Traffic Act enforcement. That's the Ontario legislation. Is that correct?
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
Yes. It's the same act that says you can't park in the middle of the 401.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Okay. All right.
You also mentioned earlier the “latest hurdle”. I'm referring to the mandates. Is your organization still opposed to the mandates in general?
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
Well, I wasn't opposed to them. We said that we need to be sensitive that there would be a cost. I also said that we were willing to take that as the cost of doing business, but we needed to be sensitive to it.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Okay. Was it more based on both the United States and Canada having their own rules on it, which was going to cause some issues with logistics, etc., and just the extra costs?
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
Yes. What will end up happening is that if you have fewer drivers, 20% fewer drivers, then the cost of those drivers.... As I said publicly, auto parts suppliers would have to outbid pork producers or other shippers at the time. That drove up the price for sure.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Yes. So with your comments that you need to be cautious and flexible, it was just that you understood the reality that the governments were regulating in this case, but it wasn't.... Truckers for the most part had two years where essentially they were doing all the work, crossing from both countries, without a mandate.
Conservative
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Thank you very much for that.
I'll move over just briefly to the credit union.
Ms. Durdin, thank you for the work that you and Michael do. I have a quick question regarding the treatment of credit unions. I want to reiterate what some of my colleagues have said, that it seemed that during this pandemic, and even to today, the credit unions seemed to be left out. You were left out of the Canada emergency business account. It took several weeks for your members to get in on that. Again, it seems to be the same process here.
Is it a structural thing in Ottawa that credit unions are not given the same access to departmental officials? What's your view on this?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Credit Union Association
I think it's just that the government doesn't automatically think of credit unions. We seem to be an afterthought, in many cases. We do have good access to Finance officials, but we have to be the instigators. We have to be the ones knocking at the door.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you, MP Albas.
We're moving to the Liberals.
MP Chatel, you have three minutes, please.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Look, disinformation warfare is absolutely real. There's no doubt in our minds. It entices people to donate to causes that are harmful to our democracy. My Conservative colleague is at best very naive to think that misinformation to undermine democracy does not exist, especially from people now noticeably repeating Russian propaganda.
Ms. Wilford, you started to give a very good answer to the question my colleague Mr. Blaikie asked you earlier. We are all aware of the issues and the dangers and risks caused by the illicit financing and use of money. We want to make sure that those platforms are indeed used for good causes.
What especially are your recommendations for us to ensure the integrity of those platforms and the use of the money being raised? You were starting to quote certain foreign legislation that perhaps are ahead of us in ensuring such integrity. Would you please continue to enlighten us on those practices?
General Counsel, GoFundMe
I wish I were the sort of expert that you may think I am. I am pretty well versed in the regulations in the jurisdictions were we operate and other markets where we decide to go, and where our donors are coming from.
What I was trying to say last time is that there are a number of laws right now protecting users and the platforms. You have everything from privacy and data security to consumer protection regulations. Our payment processors and the banks are all bound by their own financial regulations. They report to FINTRAC, as we know. They report to FinCEN in the U.S. There are a number of regulations that exist.
At the same time, we're always trying to provide the safest and most secure experience for our users. We believe that being a responsible platform helps them understand some of the laws that are in the existing jurisdictions where they are donating from.
As I was saying, in some jurisdictions, we see that fundraising for charity is quite regulated. We see that you need to go to the government to get a permit to do that in places like Australia, Denmark and Finland. We see in Singapore that they have this voluntary code of best practices where they look for the online platforms to sign up to, and then the platform puts that on their website as a badge of honour. We comply and they get audited by the government, so that the users and citizens can feel like the checks and balances are in place.
As I was saying, Romania is really the only one I'm aware of—but that doesn't mean that others don't exist—where they limit the donation amounts. They're looking to regulate the donor. The issue is that—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you. I apologize, but that is the time we have.
We are moving to the Bloc and MP Ste-Marie for up to three minutes.
Bloc
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for Ms. Durdin and Mr. Hatch.
Did your member credit unions freeze only the accounts of individuals whose names were on the RCMP's list, or did they freeze other accounts as well?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Credit Union Association
My understanding is that they follow and are very closely aligned with the list provided by the RCMP.
Bloc
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC
I see. Thank you.
When I read the orders that were made to enforce the Emergencies Act, my sense is that they were drafted in a very vague and broad manner, particularly when it comes to the guidance for financial institutions.
Finance officials told the committee that the department did not provide you with rules or details in writing; the information was provided only verbally.
After reading the orders, I wondered how institutions were supposed to handle joint accounts. I wondered what would happen to child support and rent payments coming out of the accounts in question. Those are just two examples to illustrate a much broader issue.
Was the department's failure to provide clear written guidance a problem for you?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Credit Union Association
Because it happened so quickly—the Emergencies Act was put in place on February 15 and it was revoked on February 23—those kinds of issues would probably just be starting to arise. Had it been further extended, they would have had to address those particular issues, but they became a moot point because it was withdrawn.
Bloc