Government Operations Committee on Nov. 27th, 2023

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Will you undertake to ask the CBSA who contracted GC Strategies?

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

I ask the questions; you respond. I'm asking you again, sir—

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

I'm asking the question because you don't provide me much time to answer.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

I'm asking the question. Will you do that, sir, yes or no?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Let me be a bit more [Inaudible—Editor]

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Okay, if you're evasive, I'll move on. You don't want to answer the question, so I'll move on.

GC Strategies has been suspended by the CBSA. How many other departments is GC Strategies currently working with?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Let me be as helpful as I can be. If you want to ask the CBSA a question, it's perfectly fine and appropriate to ask the CBSA a question.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

That wasn't the question.

How many other government departments is GC Strategies currently bidding on and doing work for, receiving taxpayer funds while it's under investigation by the RCMP? How many other departments? Please identify them.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm afraid that is our time. Perhaps we can get back to that in another round, or perhaps you can provide that.

The question has been brought up.... When points of order are brought up, we do stop the clock—just so you are aware.

Mr. Kusmierczyk, go ahead, please.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Again, Conservatives like to generate a lot of heat and very little light.

I want to focus on an issue that is of great importance to Canadians and is of great importance to my community: the building of affordable housing.

I was delighted, Minister, to hear that six additional properties were unlocked—federal surplus lands—to create 2,800 new units in Calgary, Ottawa and St. John's. This will bring up the total number of units that will be built in the next number of years on federal lands to about 29,000 units, and I'm really excited about that.

We have a property in Windsor on the main road downtown, Oullette Avenue. It's 960 Oullette Avenue, the former HMCS Hunter Building. It is federally owned by the defence department right now, and it's been shuttered for a number of years. It's prime property to convert to affordable housing.

I just want to ask you if you could just highlight, once again, the work that's being done to accelerate the conversion of federally owned, surplus lands into affordable housing. How do we unlock it and get it in the hands of those folks who can convert it to affordable housing in communities like mine that desperately need it?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Thank you, Irek. I think that's a wonderful question. It also speaks to your great leadership in your riding, and I'm sure that people listening to us today will appreciate a demonstration of it again.

The Canada Lands Company, CLC, is leading the effort that is absolutely needed to invest in more affordable housing in many communities—including in your riding, Irek—and we'll work together to make sure that this happens as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

You pointed to a recent announcement in the last five years. The Canada Lands Company created, in the last seven years, about 10,000 housing units. In the next five years, we'll be creating 29,000 housing places for people to live in communities like yours close to public transit, to services, to schools, to those places that people value for themselves and their communities. Many of them will be affordable. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, we will be creating more affordable homes in the next five years than we have created in the last 20 years because of the Canada Lands Company leadership.

It's great news, but it requires a lot of partnership. The important partnership is with community organizations; non-profit housing providers, including social and public housing providers; municipalities; councillors; and a type of private expertise that is needed when it comes to constructing those homes in a safe and reliable manner.

We'll be working together, and I invite every member of parliament—of all political stripes—to work with the Canada Lands Company, with our assistance, to make sure that more of these homes are constructed more quickly and in the right places.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Minister, it's about creating a mix of homes. Can you speak a bit about how we've strengthened our ambitions to build more affordable housing through the Canada Lands Company? Have we increased the proportion of affordable housing that will be built on those federal lands?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

The answer is yes. In any community, regardless whether it already has a minimum percentage of affordable homes, the minimum will be 20%.

If in some communities, like Windsor, the city or partners want to elevate that to a higher proportion, that will be even better, but it cannot be below 20%. As you've pointed out, these community homes are built in mixed settings with mixed partnerships and uses.

Again, I would invite everyone either living or working in the national capital region to visit Wateridge Village in Ottawa. It's a remarkable example of what the leadership of Canada Lands Company can do in little time with great impact.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Are you speaking directly with Canada Lands Company to accelerate the amount of time it takes for that land to be unlocked? Are we also focusing on accelerating the unlocking of that land?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Please provide a quick answer.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Yes. The best way to do that is to work in parallel. As we proceed with the disposal, putting to use the public lands and buildings in the community, and working with municipalities and private partners in parallel, that can accelerate considerably the availability of those homes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you, Mr. Kusmierczyk.

Mrs. Vignola, you have two and a half minutes, followed by Mr. Johns, Mr. Genuis, Mr. Jowhari, and then we'll excuse the minister.

Go ahead, please, Mrs. Vignola.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'm going to continue talking about the Boeing P‑8A Poseidon aircraft. Based on what we're being told, this aircraft is heavy, it can fly for a shorter period of time than other aircraft that have been proposed, and it requires more maintenance time per flying hour.

My question is simple: Why not launch a call for tenders so that not only Bombardier, but also all the other companies with rapidly modified aircraft, can submit their proposals, so that Canada has something other than a 30‑year‑old aircraft?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Before turning the floor over to Assistant Deputy Minister Page, I'd like to remind you of the two main objectives of this procurement process. The first is to meet the significant needs of the Canadian Armed Forces, in particular the Royal Canadian Air Force, in terms of defending the border and the interests of the Government of Canada here at home—

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

Why not put out a call for bids?

We're very familiar with the objectives. The deadlines are long enough to put out a call for bids and consider the options. The goal is to find the best option for Canada at the best price, without increasing costs.

Why not put out an open call for bids? That's my question.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

As you rightly said, the goal is to find the best option for the country, taking into account the availability and capabilities of the aircraft and also the impact on Canada's supply chain. I'm talking about the technological and economic impact of this procurement process. We must consider not only the aircraft purchased, but also all the ensuing activities required to upgrade and maintain them.

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

An open call for bids would allow for a much more comprehensive study of the impact of various options, rather than simply choosing a 30‑year‑old aircraft model.

Why not put out an open call for bids to ensure the best solution? There are options. Other aircraft models are available in the short term.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

I would like to reiterate that the methods, processes and results are all geared towards the objective that you described. This objective is to ensure the best possible results for Canada, for the Canadian industry and for the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces.

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

Is this an agreement with the United States?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm afraid that's our time, Mrs. Vignola.

I have Mr. Johns, please, for two and a half minutes.