Evidence of meeting #107 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was million.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Maybe it's just a not-well-explained line item in the estimates.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Yes, but it is an important one.
I tell you, if you want to talk about adaptation, Kelly, there's—
Conservative
Liberal
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Mr. Brison, please let me move on with my questions. Thank you.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Under House of Commons we have $2.7 million for “Funding for the strategy for social media and the modernization of the House of Commons’ Web presence”. What social media are we doing for $2.7 million to promote the House, and do we believe that's a good use of taxpayers' money?
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
If it's the House of Commons, that would be a question for the Board of Internal Economy.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
We are investing more in social media as a government, as I believe most governments would be doing, because we're seeking to reach Canadians in the way they are increasingly seeking to participate.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
You'd be surprised to learn that this is the opposite of what we heard on the committee from the advertising study, but let's move on.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
In terms of social media, we're doing more. One of the reasons we're doing more, Kelly—
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
—with social media is that it's a two-way communication. The previous government wasn't as interested in that.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Thank you.
I have a very last quick question. Who approved $5 million for a two-week hockey rink on the grounds outside, when we have so many issues with safe water, housing, and everything else? We're going after diabetic sufferers, but we're spending $5 million for a hockey rink. I know it's not you, but good Lord, who?
Liberal
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
This is a question I would take to your member on the Board of Internal Economy.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
I look forward to taking my three-and-a-half-year-old daughters Rose and Claire there sometime this winter, putting them on skates for the first time, and having them skate on Parliament Hill as part of Canada's—
Conservative
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
I'm trying to get them into skiing, because I don't want to sit in a cold rink all the time.
Conservative
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon, Minister.
I want to pick up on the conversation we had somewhat earlier about the injustice for the public sector involving Phoenix and what it means in terms of the government's delivering on its obligations to public servants under collective agreements. Thank you for your frank assessment of the failure of that system to do so.
Your government has chosen to carry through a decision of the Harper government to deem civilian members of the RCMP into the public service, and the deadline for that is early next year—sometime in the spring. One consequence of it, presumably, would be that those civilian members would then be transferred onto the Phoenix payroll system. Currently, they are on a well-functioning payroll system.
I wonder whether, given your remarks about the inadequacy of Phoenix to make good on our obligations to the public servants for doing good work, you could commit to not transferring those employees onto the Phoenix payroll system until the issues with the payroll system are resolved.
