Finance Committee on May 7th, 2026

[Thomas Larouche]

We do have some details in the update. There's going to be a transition office. Work is, of course, under way on this fund. I believe we have the details.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

I'd like just the costing.

[Thomas Larouche]

It's fairly minimal, but there is going to be a cost for the transition office.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Do you have that cost available?

[Thomas Larouche]

Yes.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

The reason I'm asking, of course, is that there hasn't been too much detail given to the broader public, even though the broader public is being asked to invest in it.

When I asked the Bank of Canada governor, he had not been consulted. He does not have the cost. He directed me to the finance department, which is you.

[Thomas Larouche]

That's right.

To answer the previous question, the cost of the transition office is about $6 million over six years, starting this fiscal year. The details are provided on page 86 of the update.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Yes, but that's just the transition office.

[Thomas Larouche]

That's correct.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

I'm asking about the fund itself, the debt and the infrastructure needed to establish it.

[Thomas Larouche]

Some assumptions are made in terms of the cash requirements. The government has been pretty transparent that it is going to support this fund initially. I don't think we're very explicit in terms of the assumptions. I can say that there is an assumption that is made in terms of the financial requirements, and it's factored into our projection for—

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Could you answer in terms of dollars? How much is it going to cost?

[Thomas Larouche]

I don't think we are explicit in the document around the profiling, but we do factor in, obviously.... We make an assumption in terms of financial requirements and public debt charges.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Do you have the number?

[Thomas Larouche]

I don't have the number with me today, but I can endeavour to—

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Could you submit the number, then?

[Thomas Larouche]

Yes.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

It's to have the cost, of course, of the debt itself, but also just to establish it.

[Thomas Larouche]

Right. I will consult with colleagues, and we'll get back to you as a follow-up. I think we have a transcript. We'll keep an eye on that, and we'll follow up on this.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Another reason I'm asking is that Canada has a number of investment Crown corporations—namely, the Business Development Bank of Canada, the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Sustainable Development Technology Canada. We're trying to understand why there is a need for another debt-funded Crown corporation. What is the sovereign wealth fund going to do that the other Crown corporations don't already do?

[Thomas Larouche]

It's a good question. It's a fair observation. There are a number of funds. The Canada Growth Fund is another one.

This one is a bit different. As I mentioned, we have high-level details in the update. Work is currently under way.

It's not really my area of expertise, so I will not provide details there, but we can endeavour to get back to you with as much detail as we have at this moment.

[Sandra Cobena, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

At a very high level, why is this fund needed? What is the gap that the other Crown corporations have created, the things they do not do that the fund will do?

[Thomas Larouche]

Again, this is not my area, so I wouldn't be able to—

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

That's time.

We'll go on to the next five-minute round.

Go ahead, Mr. MacDonald.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Actually, I'm going to cede to Mr. Turnbull.