Evidence of meeting #59 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 supplementary.
A video is available from Parliament.
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Okay.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is looking for an extra $436,000. Was that covered for Marrakesh, or is that added fees for Paris? It's under the heading for Foreign Affairs.
12:25 p.m.
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management, Treasury Board Secretariat
I'm sorry, but I missed the question.
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Regarding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the estimate was $400,000 to date—looking for an extra $436,000, for a total of $848,000. Was that covering off costs from Paris, or is this for Marrakesh?
12:25 p.m.
Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management, Treasury Board Secretariat
Marrakesh? Sorry, what—?
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
If you could. Since we're out of time, I would appreciate if you could supply those details.
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
November 17th, 2016 / 12:25 p.m.
NDP
Erin Weir NDP Regina—Lewvan, SK
Shared Services is seeking additional funding through the supplementary estimates. Yesterday, our committee heard from Wayne Smith, who resigned as the chief statistician to protest that Shared Services was impinging on Statistics Canada's independence.
Notwithstanding some good words in the economic update about independence for Statistics Canada, Mr. Smith believes that the government has not done anything to remove the effective veto that Shared Services has over Statistics Canada's work. I'm wondering if you could tell us what communication Mr. Smith had with you and your secretariat before he resigned, and also what you're doing in funding Shared Services to try to resolve this problem and ensure an independent national statistics agency.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
We absolutely support the principle that Stats Canada needs to operate independently in terms of its objectives of providing high-quality data and information to Canadians. We in fact restored the long-form census, and that was a significant step forward in that objective.
On the broader question of Shared Services Canada, and to support the transformation, we are concurrently conducting a review of Shared Services Canada along with the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada. We've engaged Gartner Canada to assess and make recommendations.
12:25 p.m.
NDP
Erin Weir NDP Regina—Lewvan, SK
I'm familiar with the review of Shared Services that's going on. I'm wondering whether Mr. Smith talked to you or others at Treasury Board about these problems before he resigned.
12:25 p.m.
Yaprak Baltacioglu Secretary of the Treasury Board Secretariat, Treasury Board Secretariat
Not before he was resigning. That was not a discussion that anybody would have with Treasury Board Secretariat.
Prior to that, Mr. Smith had identified, in written form, as well as in some of the meetings that I had with him, his concerns. As a result, I stressed with Shared Services Canada, especially when the census was being done, that they needed the right support. I believe that Shared Services Canada put a full team around the census and the census support, and, right now, the Stats Canada operations. After the census was finalized, Mr. Smith did report that he was adequately supported by Shared Services Canada for the census activities.
However, we wouldn't be privy to him not being in his job, or his independence.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Shared Services Canada is part of Public Services and Procurement Canada.
12:25 p.m.
Secretary of the Treasury Board Secretariat, Treasury Board Secretariat
We do the issues....
12:25 p.m.
NDP
Erin Weir NDP Regina—Lewvan, SK
Another item in the supplementary estimates is the Correctional Service seeking an additional $30.6 million to cover an increase in the offender population. Your government could easily reduce that population and these costs by decriminalizing marijuana.
Why haven't you done so?
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
As you are aware, justice is under the leadership of the justice minister.
Former justice minister Anne McLellan is leading a rigorous study of public policy around that, working with Bill Blair. We are working, as a government, to research the best possible way forward, what has worked well in other jurisdictions in terms of legalization and regulation of marijuana. We want to identify the best possible practices. Other jurisdictions that have gone before us have taken steps from which we can learn. That's the advantage in terms of studying rigorously what other jurisdictions have done.
12:30 p.m.
NDP
Erin Weir NDP Regina—Lewvan, SK
I certainly support a rigorous study about how best to legalize marijuana.
I'm asking in the meantime why you don't decriminalize it, so that you're not asking parliamentarians to approve supplementary estimates to keep more people in jail.
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Weir, I always admire your ability to conflate two different issues into one question. I used to be pretty good at that too.
However, I would argue that we have the need to, in terms of Corrections Canada...and right now it's one that I wouldn't conflate with a broader public policy in terms of legalization and regulation. I think the two are related very tangentially, but in terms of the needs that exist right now in terms of Corrections Canada, we believe there are real—
12:30 p.m.
NDP
Erin Weir NDP Regina—Lewvan, SK
If the government wasn't putting people in prison for marijuana, then the offender population wouldn't be as large, so I think there's a very clear connection.
I do want to move on to another issue. The supplementary estimates include $46.7 million to try to fix the Phoenix pay system. I wonder if you could tell us how much of that money is going to be paid to IBM?
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
I don't have the information on that, but we can provide more....
12:30 p.m.
Secretary of the Treasury Board Secretariat, Treasury Board Secretariat
We will provide you more information, but most of it is because Public Services and Procurement Canada has established satellite offices, and we hired a lot of people for those. The majority of the money is there. We will get you how much goes to IBM as part of their contract.