Evidence of meeting #110 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 going.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Great.
I want to switch over to issues we're all having at our constituency offices.
Earlier our chair from public accounts stated that even though he's in a rural office with very few government workers, Phoenix is now the number one thing they're hearing about. We're hearing a lot in Edmonton West. We used to have a system set up whereby constituency office workers could call in, and they'd have a designated person to help them. We're finding now that the designated person is saying they can't help anymore.
Can you commit to setting up this system again for MPs so that we can help these worst cases that are coming to our offices, who are having such a hard time fighting through the call centre waits, etc.?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
We made a conscious choice, working with the unions, to focus on a certain type of transaction. The priority transactions at first were disability and maternity or parental claims, and it was a conscious choice not to have MPs' offices take priority over those kinds of cases.
The important piece I think you're referring to is the lines of communication aren't clear, and we can definitely work on them—
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Let me interrupt you. From what I've seen from reports, Madam Lemay, you've reached 90%. You've reached your goal for the maternity leave and this and that. If we're reached this steady state on those issues, why are we still at a point where the constituency office has calls about people who haven't been paid or are overpaid, getting harassed, and we're still getting the same response—that they should check again in two or three months? Can we not get back to having MPs being able to help constituents?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
I do think it's unacceptable that you're not getting a response more quickly than that and I can definitely look into it. At this time I can't commit to the solution to that unless.... Can you provide any further insight into why someone wouldn't be getting...?
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Again, this is for all of us MPs. It's not a Conservative issue and it's not a Liberal issue. We are getting the cold shoulder.
Liberal
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services
We can definitely reset the lines that we used to have to get the MP contact to connect to the hardship—
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
When can we hear back from you when that's going to happen, please?
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services
We can do that quickly. We could set a link with your office to the hardship line.
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
Yes, hardship cases are definitely brought to my office all the time from MPs, and a structure is in place to get those—
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
When can we hear back from you that we can reset this so the MPs have a way to...?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
It can be very done very quickly, within a couple of weeks for sure. I'm sorry; I misunderstood your question.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Fantastic. That's good news.
How much time, Chair? I'm running out of time. I'm going to pass to the others. I'll switch off Phoenix.
Seeing as I've got you here, whose decision was it to spend $550,000 to put that wrap on that government building a couple of blocks from here, the Canada Post building?
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
It seems like an enormous waste of money to wrap a government building in $550,000.
Conservative
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services
It was PSPC and Canadian Heritage, because there was a component—
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
My understanding is that the rationale behind that has to do with the dilapidated state of a lot of the buildings and trying to make the building, as it's under repair, not be an eyesore as a backdrop for—
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Do you believe that's a good use of taxpayers' money, or could we commit to not having that repeated?
Liberal
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
I can certainly commit to looking into it. I don't know that it was. Right now that was a pilot, and we're looking into whether we would do something again. I would commit to say that there may be a better use of money.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Okay. Thanks for your time, and again, thanks for your commitment to getting the lines open again for the MPs. It's extremely important to our constituents.
