Government Operations Committee on May 31st, 2023

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

They were very stressed. You could feel the tension. I have to say, though, that the White House budget office was very welcoming.

In terms of collaboration on digital services for Americans and for Canadians, we chose to also look at how we can better work together. Also, with my responsibility on greening government, we have other opportunities to work together. Therefore, it's good for us and it's good also for the Americans.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

That's amazing.

I also wanted to commend you on the negotiations on the collective agreement. I don't get the sense that anybody thinks this was not a well-negotiated agreement. I've had a lot of positive reaction.

It almost was a bit weird; people were asking why you were taking so long, almost implying that you should just agree to whatever the demands of the union were at the time, because that's the only way you could have just simply settled. I think you handled that really well. I want to give you credit for that, Minister.

Do I have any time left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

No, you don't.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Let me also thank all parliamentarians for helping and making sure that we could get through this as quickly as we could.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thanks.

I'm glad you brought up the U.S. I have to say that we could learn a lot from them on transparency and openness. I hope to see that improvement in the Canadian system.

We're into our final round.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

I made you a gift today, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Ms. Block, you have five minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Minister, many public servants now working remotely, as we were discussing earlier, and they will be eligible for home office deductions on their income tax. Can you tell us what the cost ramifications are to the treasury from all the public servants working from home who are now eligible to claim home office deductions on their income tax?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

I want to start by saying how important it is to look at how hybrid can complement and really help in delivering the best services to Canadians. Therefore, that's what we've been concentrating on—making sure that we focus delivering the best services to Canadians. We will continue to transform the hybrid format.

As for your question, it's a CRA question. Therefore, I would maybe offer the possibility to go to the CRA to make sure that I give you the right answer on the question you just asked me.

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

Thank you. Are you offering to provide that back to us at a later date?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

I will send you the answer to your question through CRA.

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

Thank you.

I'll follow up with something else, because I think you did refer to this in one of your answers to my questions or maybe to someone else's.

During the pandemic, many public servants moved away from major cities to areas where housing was more affordable while they were working virtually for the unforeseeable future. Many of these people moved more than 125 kilometres away from their workplace. They will now be eligible for travel expenses when they are required to be in the office.

Do you know what the projected costs of the interim standard on occasional travel to a designated work site will be?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Again, thank you. As we move forward with this hybrid by design initiative, there are many things we are looking at. Of course, departments need to look at those agreements, if they continue or not, in terms of how the members of the public service will deliver through the department they're in. One thing we know is that we're still transforming this hybrid. It's not something that is a done deal. It has to be something that is transforming our delivery of services.

Mireille might be able to answer part of your question.

[Mireille Laroche]

Thank you for your question.

The interim standard is a pilot project that will be in place for approximately two years. We will be gathering information in terms of costs.

There are a couple of things there.

We expect it's going to be used on an exceptional basis. This is not to come to, let's say, Ottawa every week; it's just once or twice a year. There is no money associated with this pilot. That means departments have to fund the pilot within their envelope.

There's more to come on that in terms of the true costs. We'll be able to evaluate and see if this is actually something we want to pursue over the long run.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

You have a minute and a half.

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

I have another question for you, Minister.

In the listing of statutory authorities under “Budgetary”, you are seeking $737 million in additional interest. This is coming only two months after the budget.

Is this related to real return bonds?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

It's a legislative amount. I'm not seeking any approval on this. It's for information only.

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

Okay.

It's listed as part of the supplementary estimates: “Interest on Unmatured Debt (Financial Administration Act)”, $737 million. That's just being provided to us for information?

Can you tell us what this additional interest is for and whether it is related to real return bonds?

[Annie Boudreau]

It is related to interest increases. The amount you have in front of you matches what is included in budget 2023. If you have more questions, those will be for the Minister of Finance.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Mr. Bains, you have five minutes. Go ahead, please.

[Parm Bains, Liberal, Steveston—Richmond East, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, with climate change continuing to create more drastic and unpredictable natural disasters across the globe, Canada needs to ensure it has the tools and funding in place to support Canadians affected by events like the ongoing wildfires in Alberta and my home province of British Columbia and the flooding in Quebec.

Can the minister please update the committee on what is being done to support these initiatives in the estimates?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you.

As we know, as the effects of climate change increase, so does the frequency of natural disasters like those you mentioned—flooding and fires. We are, of course, committed to supporting Canadians and keeping them safe. The main estimates include a $1.6-billion increase in expected disbursements under the disaster financial assistance arrangement for 2023-24, and it is based on forecasts. This supports provinces and territories in terms of the cost of response and recovery that is beyond what they could reasonably bear on their own.

This complements the prevention initiatives that were in budget 2023, such as the creation of an online portal so that Canadians can access information on their own and see their exposure to flooding so they can take measures to protect their home.

We are also working with the provinces and territories to address the gaps in natural disaster protection and help Canadians access affordable insurance.

Those are two examples.