Finance Committee on June 11th, 2026

[Dana Stephenson]

First of all, we work with businesses and learners all across Canada, in every region across Canada. We've also, in case you're wondering, exported this to the U.K., to the U.S. and all around the world. We're probably the category leader with this particular model, and we're signing contracts with states in the U.S. at this point. This model is being recognized around the world.

In terms of small businesses, 85% of the micro-businesses—when we say “micro-businesses”, we mean under 10 employees—we focus on are under 10 employees. They're the backbone of the economy. A really important stat here is that those businesses report growing on average by 2.63 FTE after working with us. That doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're under 10 employees—the average is five or six employees—2.63 FTE is a huge contribution to the economy, so that's where we focus.

We work with medium-sized businesses. We work with large companies. We have large companies like IBM that co-invest alongside the government so that public dollars can go further. There's a whole flywheel effect that can happen, and micro-businesses are where the foundation starts that really moves the needle for the economy.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you.

I see my time is running out.

Mr. Deegan, I listened to what you said earlier about print media. What is your vision for print media in terms of competition, given the rise of artificial intelligence? What is your vision for the next 10 years? How do you see it evolving?

[Paul Deegan]

I think businesses will continue to be very challenged. The advertising market is essentially broken, largely due to Google's illegal behaviour. Unless that's remedied—the Competition Bureau is trying to deal with this, and so are other regulators around the world—it's going to be very challenging. We have to do something to stop AI companies from stealing copyright-protected content.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you Mr. Lavoie.

We'll go to Mr. Garon for six minutes.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Good morning, Chair and colleagues.

I would like to thank all the witnesses for being here today.

Ms. Martin-Laforge, let me start by saying that the committee is taking a close look at your proposals. You're advocating for Quebec’s historic English-speaking communities. Believe it or not, we are looking at this with great interest.

You talked about groups advocating for the English-speaking community in Quebec. These groups—school boards and community groups like the one you belong to—submitted briefs to the committee. Part of that certainly has merit.

I’d like to know if you can guarantee that none of the funds from federal public sources will ever be used to challenge laws passed by Quebec—such as Bill 96 or Bill 21—all the way to the Supreme Court. Can you guarantee that?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

It's not up to me to guarantee what you're proposing.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Who is it up to?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

You're aware that the Quebec government's constitutional bill is now under consideration and will pass—or not—this week.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

I understand, but I asked you a more specific question than that, and I believe you understood what I was asking.

Do you think public funds should be used by anglophone groups to challenge Bill 96? Should public money be used to pay for that?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

The anglophone community retains the obligation and the right to challenge—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Ms. Martin-Laforge, I would like you to answer the question. No one has ever said, anywhere, that we are no longer under the rule of law, or that people no longer have the right to challenge decisions. As you know, you have the right to challenge this in court, and that is as it should be.

I'm asking you about public funds: do you believe that federal public funds should, in whole or in part, be used to pay for these legal challenges?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

Public funds should be used to challenge the government where other funds are not used. The Government of Quebec right now—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you. That answers my question. You believe that federal public funds can be used by Quebec’s anglophone community to challenge laws that were democratically passed by the Quebec National Assembly.

I’ll move on to Chief Woodhouse Nepinak, if I may.

Chief Woodhouse Nepinak, recently my Bloc Québécois colleagues Marilène Gill and Gabriel Ste-Marie made a joint statement alongside Sipi Flamand, Chief of the Manawan Atikamekw Council, regarding a damning report by Amnesty International on housing conditions among Indigenous peoples.

This case study revealed that many families in Manawan are forced to live in substandard housing that is plagued by mould and in dire need of repair, among other issues.

What can be done to permanently resolve the housing crisis facing Indigenous peoples?

[Josh Gladstone, Acting Director, Housing and Infrastructure, Assembly of First Nations]

This strikes me as a question about housing and the Amnesty report on housing.

There are some immediate things that need to be done to address the first nations housing gap. We're approaching a fiscal cliff right now on first nations housing. Funding through Indigenous Services Canada is slated to sunset this year. This was the budget 2022 announcement target. Without additional funding to sustain that investment, we're looking at a significant drop in funding, one that's hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

You’re referring to fluctuating funding. More specifically, about 10 years ago, the Viens commission stated that housing was the underlying cause of first nations' problems.

In your opinion, should this have been a priority, and why did the federal government neglect housing in this way?

[Josh Gladstone]

That's a very good question.

In her 2024 report, the Auditor General of Canada made some interesting observations about this. A number of Auditor General's reports have come to the same conclusion that the government is not doing enough to close the housing gap. The Government of Canada does not have a strategy to close that gap, and that's a significant problem that the Auditor General reported on.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

If I may, I'd like to add a comment.

We asked the minister some questions during question period, and she told us that her government is a new government and that it is moving forward now. However, what you’re telling us is that the government is moving forward without a strategy.

[Josh Gladstone]

We are certainly going ahead without a strategy now. With regard to the announcement of an indigenous housing strategy, at this point we do not have a commitment to a distinctions-based component for first nations, nor has there been any sort of announcement around the co-development or co-drafting of that strategy. Meanwhile, first nations are moving ahead with a first nations housing strategy, and our expectation is that the Government of Canada will do its work to ensure that first nations' rights and interests are reflected in the work that we do.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

We all hope so, and please know that we in the Bloc Québécois will continue to do everything we can to make your voices heard in the House of Commons. Thank you for being here.

I'll give the floor back to you, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Garon.

Ms. Cobena, you have the floor for five minutes.

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

Chief Woodhouse Nepinak, I'd love to start with you.

I had a sweet young lady named Fatima email me from Orde Street Public School. She was inquiring about the status of water infrastructure in first nations territories. In her letter, she was quite concerned. Of course, from your earlier exchange, we know that 36 communities still do not have access to clean water, and you mentioned budgets as a mechanism for government to deliver on these obligations.

The government promised to introduce water legislation that would meet the need for clean water in first nations. So far, about three deadlines have been missed for this legislation. How much of Indigenous Services Canada's $24-billion budget would it cost to address the water infrastructure issues that these first nations communities are facing?

[Josh Gladstone]

We have estimated that the gap to address first nations' water and waste water is $44.2 billion. The amount to address just the 38 drinking water advisories is about $778 million.

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

What is holding up the closure of this gap?

[Josh Gladstone]

We need programs that are designed to address first nations' needs—long-term sustained funding, not annual funding amounts to first nations. We need first nations jurisdiction over water and waste water. We anticipate and hope that the legislation we expect to be tabled will address these needs. We need national standards that will ensure that the Government of Canada is held accountable to deliver safe and clean drinking water in a way that meets indigenous needs and respects inherent rights and treaty rights.

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

Your housing gap report estimates that about 157,000-plus new homes are needed to address the first nations housing crisis. Given that the Build Canada Homes project will only build approximately 5,000 non-market homes per year, when do you project that the government will meet the demand for first nations' needs?