Evidence of meeting #48 for Finance in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was companies.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Nicholas Schiavo  Director, Federal Affairs, Council of Canadian Innovators
Dave Prowten  President and Chief Executive Officer, JDRF Canada
Matt Stimpson  JDRF Canada
Lynne Groulx  Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada
John Clayton  Director of Programs and Projects, Samaritan's Purse Canada
Dana O'Born  Vice-President, Strategy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators

11:40 a.m.

Vice-President, Strategy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Freedom to operate is basically a strategy that by protecting our own Canadian IP and then finding a way to ensure that the products that are sold.... Basically, it's that you understand how we are able to sell and move forward along the chain without infringing on other companies' IP rights. Okay. So that's helpful.

We also have the Innovation Asset Collective. There was also a recommendation that we need to massively increase the investment in the Innovation Asset Collective—one, in terms of educating around IP, and two, in creating a culture of IP protection. Would you also agree with that?

11:40 a.m.

Vice-President, Strategy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators

Dana O'Born

Yes, indeed. Perhaps I could briefly expand on that comment.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Sure.

11:40 a.m.

Vice-President, Strategy and Advocacy, Council of Canadian Innovators

Dana O'Born

The Innovation Asset Collective was announced in, I believe, budget 2019, right before everything in the world changed. It was given $30 million as a pilot program, effectively, but it had a focus on digital and clean technology. You probably heard from one of our colleagues, Jim Hinton, about the expansion of the patent regime under the IAC.

Indeed, CCI agrees full-heartedly that it should be expanded and made permanent, and expanded into other sectors as well.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca

Thank you.

Thank you, MP Dzerowicz. That's the time.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Thank you so much.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca

We'll now hear from the Bloc and MP Ste-Marie.

11:40 a.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to begin by wishing all my colleagues a happy Vyshyvanka Day. We have not forgotten the ongoing war in Ukraine, and we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Our wish is for peace to prevail as quickly as possible.

Also, I would like to welcome your Ukrainian intern with whom I just had a brief opportunity to speak. Her French is impeccable, she's fluent in five languages, and she just told me about the situation her family is facing. Once again we wish to reiterate our solidarity with the Ukrainian people on this Vyshyvanka Day.

I have a comment for Mr. Clayton from Samaritan's Purse Canada.

Mr. Clayton, thank you for your very clear explanations. As you noted, we’ve heard from other witnesses, such as Mr. Macdonald, who clearly described the problem. I sincerely hope this committee will move amendments to rectify the situation.

As you mentioned, Mr. Chair, the Native Women's Association of Canada representatives will be leaving shortly. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Mr. Boucher and Ms. Groulx. Kwe.

I'd also like to give Ms. Groulx the opportunity to finish her presentation, if she’d like.

11:40 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada

Lynne Groulx

That's very kind. Thank you very much for this opportunity.

I will continue. I have been given an opportunity to continue with a few points that I wanted to make.

There was one on food security. Food security has been an ongoing and serious problem in indigenous communities, which was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now communities are struggling due to the rising costs with inflation. While budget 2021 did provide funding to expand the nutrition north Canada program, budget 2022 contains no new investments to improve food security in indigenous communities. As food prices skyrocket across the country, more funding is desperately needed to appropriately address this crisis. In the Métis language that we speak, there is only so much macaroni you can eat.

Something has to be done about this. Our communities are getting sick from this kind of food they're eating. It is not quality food. This is something that's happening.

Finally, I did want to speak a little bit longer on the incarceration. We know that it's completely out of control. Report after report is coming out. Indigenous women make up 50% in federally sentenced prisons and they only represent 4%. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, it's absolutely shocking that indigenous women are 85% of the population of these prisons. A large-scale injustice is being perpetrated in Canada. We have a pipeline from residential schools to prisons.

The over-incarceration of women has been recognized as a crisis, even at the international level with the UN special rapporteur. It's a form of violence against women. We need to start untangling this tangled web that we have called “colonization”. When and how are we going to start?

Investments have to be made in communities. We have to provide communities with resources, so that we can take some of these situations in our own hands and have programs—healing programs—to keep our women out of prisons and, when it is possible, to do so in the community.

These are the points I wanted to make. I appreciate the extra time that you've given me. Thank you.

11:45 a.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Thank you, Ms. Groulx. Meegwetch.

You raised five very important concerns that we’ve taken note of. I thank you for sharing them with us.

Have you and your organization had time to peruse the 440 pages in Bill C‑19?

You've accurately outlined what may be missing and what your concerns are, in general. Is there anything in Bill C‑19 that you feel strongly about? Are there any amendments that you think could be made to improve it?

Specifically, what does the budget have to offer and what does it still urgently need to address?

11:45 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada

Lynne Groulx

Thank you. That's a great question. We have indeed had the opportunity to look at the bill a little bit.

The main thing for us is everything that needs to be done in connection with missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, or MMIWG. There really needs to be an investment in whatever form that takes. It's urgent. There are programs in the communities that could operate at a cost that is not excessively high. We really have to revisit that. Again, this is urgent.

Statistics have just been released on incarcerated women, but with respect to murdered and missing women, things are continuing. Something isn't working. We need to empower our women and our communities to put these programs in place. We need resources to do this.

I really want to emphasize this point. There is nothing in the budget about these resources. Would it be possible for you or the committee to pay particular attention to this concern?

11:45 a.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

That's very clear. Meegwetch.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

11:45 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada

Lynne Groulx

Thank you.

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca

Thank you, MP Ste-Marie.

Thank you very much for recognizing Vyshyvanka Day. We all stand with Ukraine. We do have many Ukrainian interns here, like Louise in my office, who speaks five languages. It's very impressive.

We are now going to hear from the NDP with questions.

We'll now have MP Blaikie for six minutes.

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Thank you very much.

I, too, want to take a quick moment to acknowledge the work of Mr. Fast on the committee, before his departure.

I want to ask as question of Ms. Groulx, before she has to leave.

You started already, but I wonder if you could paint a picture of what programs would be possible with more federal funding on the MMIWG file. What would that look like? How do we get started today, if there's already money set aside, so we can figure out how much more is required going forward?

11:45 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada

Lynne Groulx

There are, indeed, some examples of programming right now. There are many communities talking about healing centres. These are really needed very badly. We at the Native Women's Association of Canada started one of our own. We had to do it with the Bank of Montreal. We had to do it with private investments. We could not receive the infrastructure money. It's complicated to get infrastructure money. It's complicated to get operational money. Sometimes you get infrastructure money, and you don't get operational money, or you get operational money, and you don't get infrastructure money. Something has to be done about this.

The communities need healing centres. There are examples. There are even examples at the international level. Mexico, for example, has a model called Casa de la Mujer Indígena, their house of indigenous women. They are resourced. They are run by indigenous women themselves. These are the kinds of programs we need. If we could have some assistance with that, we would appreciate it. We can literally save lives this way. It's putting the communities in charge of their own healing process, their own path to healing, and safety and security.

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Thank you.

Thank you for your advocacy here today and for providing some concrete examples of how that funding can help make a difference here in Canada.

Mr. Clayton, you said in your opening remarks that you had three specific amendments that you thought would be useful in respect of the direction and control provisions in the BIA.

I was hoping you could share those with the committee now.

11:50 a.m.

Director of Programs and Projects, Samaritan's Purse Canada

John Clayton

As I mentioned, these amendments were submitted to this committee by Imagine Canada, Cooperation Canada and Philanthropic Foundations Canada. The first is specifically to change the qualifying disbursement mechanism, remove the reference to having it meet prescribed conditions and replace it with a requirement instead that makes it reasonable steps to ensure that resources are disbursed. That would be the first one.

The second one would be to amend the language related to directed giving. That is also mentioned in the BIA. It would allow Canadian charities to contribute to pooled funds supporting non-qualified donees.

Lastly, would be to delete proposed regulation 3703. I don't know the exact number, but it's close to 800 words of new regulatory requirements. This would allow for regulations to be in CRA guidance instead, and not as codified rules within the Income Tax Act.

Those would be the three big things, the amendments we would look to that would take this tremendous development within the charitable sector and allow this qualifying disbursement mechanism to function in the real world.

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Thank you very much.

Ms. Groulx, I know this wasn't the focus of your presentation, but one of the claims that's being made about the provisions in the budget implementation act in respect of charity direction and control is that it makes it harder for charities to partner with indigenous organizations.

I wonder if you have any examples from your own experience and that of your organization where the current charitable rules have gotten in the way of funding projects. If not, that's okay. As I say, I recognize that wasn't the thrust of your own remarks here at committee, but, if you do have an example, I would welcome your sharing it.

11:50 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada

Lynne Groulx

I happen to have an example. We have had to apply for charitable status, and there seems to be an undue delay and a complication there for some reason, so this could be causing some problems to other organizations as well.

Nevertheless, I do have to say that the private sector is stepping up in an accelerated way. We're being contacted by many different organizations and many different companies, but we have an impediment when it comes to the paperwork and the bureaucracy around it. Hopefully that could be resolved, but I'm not sure if there's another point there that I may not be aware of in terms of what's going on with the charity and paperwork around that.

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Thank you very much.

As I say, I know was asking you to go outside the scope of your initial presentation.

11:50 a.m.

Chief Executive Officer, Native Women's Association of Canada

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

That's no problem at all.

Mr. Chair, how am I doing for time? Do I have a little bit more?

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca

You have about a minute, MP Blaikie.