Government Operations Committee on Dec. 3rd, 2024

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

We will now go to—

[Anita Anand]

That's the question.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I have the floor here, Minister. I said we'd stick to specific times.

Mr. Jowhari has the floor. I'm sure he can provide an opportunity.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome, Minister and officials, to our committee. I promise this is going to be an exciting one.

You mentioned a number of times, in your opening remarks and responses, the national school food program. Minister, thank you for the government's ongoing commitment to supporting families across the country.

Could you share with us some of the important measures that aim to enhance the well-being of families?

[Anita Anand]

I was trying to explain to my honourable colleague the importance of a national school food program. I see that she has left the room. Unfortunately, she won't be able to hear the—

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

No, Mr. Chair.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

She's in the back. Can you grow up?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Colleagues, the minister has the floor.

[Anita Anand]

Excuse me. I was unable to give the answer. That is what I'm trying to say. I wanted to, so I'm very pleased that my honourable colleague asked a question where I can mention the point.

There is, in the supplementary estimates, a national school food program that will feed 400,000 children, if approved.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm sorry. I'm stopping the clock.

[Anita Anand]

My honourable colleague and her party are going to vote against it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm sorry. I'm stopping the clock for a point of order.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Chair, we know it's unacceptable to mention the absence of someone from the chamber. I expect the same rule to apply to committee.

I was in the room. The minister should know that I'm always watching her and what she's doing. If she wants to do the same for me, she can certainly feel free to do that. I'm happy if she wants me to wear an air tag.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thanks.

Please continue, Minister Anand.

[Anita Anand]

As I was saying, it's for 400,000 children across the country. That's 4,100 children in Newfoundland and Labrador, 19,000 children in Manitoba and 160,000 children in Ontario. I think it is incumbent upon anyone who purports to care for children and families, and the well-being of communities, to vote in favour of these measures. Conservatives have been against voting for families and getting meals at school. I would argue that is irresponsible, in terms of supporting Canadian families at this very stressful time in their lives.

We have made progress with some of the provinces, but the funding has not been approved yet. It needs to be approved in a timely manner, or the future of the program will be at risk. Kids and families are relying on us to get this done. We need to ensure that everyone in the House of Commons votes in favour of Canadian families and Canadian kids in these supplementary estimates.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

Another topic of serious concern in my riding of Richmond Hill, in York region and across Canada is car theft.

Although we've seen some decreases in car theft, carjacking is on the rise.

I want to get an understanding from you, Minister, on what specific measures are being implemented to effectively reduce these incidents. Is there any funding in these supplementary estimates to support it, and how important is it for us to support this?

[Anita Anand]

It is important. There is approximately $8 million going to the CBSA and Public Safety to address the recent rise in vehicle thefts across Canada. CBSA is going to utilize immediate funding to focus on addressing the export of stolen vehicles, and these investments will build the foundation of CBSA's export control and the surveillance of stolen vehicles. They are targeted towards stolen vehicle exports, but the surveillance equipment that is being invested in is going to be able to address containers writ large.

The auto theft situation facing Canadians is completely unacceptable. As I said, there is approximately $8 million in these supplementary estimates to address auto theft, and it would be responsible for everybody in the House to show support for Canadians who have suffered a stolen vehicle from their driveway.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

Those are, naturally, the two important topics of concern in my riding.

There are two other areas I want to quickly touch on. One is funding for access to information. I understand there's $3.4 million for strengthening the access to information system as well as about $3.2 million in funding for the Government of Canada's enterprise cybersecurity strategy. Can you expand on that one? How important is it? How will it help small businesses, and how will it help the government?

[Anita Anand]

There is $3.4 million for strengthening the access to information system, and the funding is essential to maintain and operate the ATIP online portal, to re-establish a dedicated team to undertake the 2025 ATI review and to support the establishment of a systematic approach for the declassification of historical records.

I want to mention that, since 2015, we've taken steps to improve the Access to Information Act, including introducing the most significant reforms in 30 years. The Conservatives, on the other hand, have previously voted against funding for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, diminishing Canadians' rights to access to information. Again, these supplementary estimates contain $3.4 million for strengthening transparency and strengthening the access to information system.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Minister. I'm out of time. Another colleague of mine can ask about cybersecurity.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you very much.

Mrs. Vignola, you have six minutes.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank Ms. Anand, Mr. Matthews, Ms. Cahill and Mr. Brunelle-Côté for being with us today.

My first question concerns Canada Life, more specifically its international subcontractor MSH.

I'll start with that, because I get dozens of emails about MSH. People are having trouble getting reimbursed. The same problem exists at Canada Life. In fact, an employee in my office went through the process for three months before being reimbursed.

We are told that everything is going very well at Canada Life and that this company is even thinking of reducing its workforce because it no longer has many applications.

What explains this discrepancy between the messages I receive and the response Canada Life gives you?

[Anita Anand]

Thank you for the question.

The decision to have a contract with MSH is up to Canada Life. We have seen progress with this subcontractor. For example, call wait times in November 2024 for MSH were less than four minutes, and claims turnaround times in November 2024 for MSH were four days for full coverage and eight days for emergency travel.

We will have a lot of work to do in the future. However, we found that Canada Life's subcontractor, MSH, had made progress.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Would it be appropriate to send you the emails I receive, with all due respect, so that you have another picture of the situation?