Government Operations Committee on March 26th, 2026

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

I'm hoping that I can break this down in a way that makes sense, because I know lot of Canadians are confused about what just happened.

The Liberals asked us to approve spending a billion dollars—vote 50c—with absolutely no breakdown of where the money is going. Now we're here, after the vote, trying to understand what just got approved. As I see it, Parliament's job is to approve spending before it happens, based on clear information.

Would we agree on that, Minister?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Thank you for that question. It's very important for Canadians to understand what vote 50 is. We already have vote 5, which is a 5% contingency fund.

We already have that in place. In case of any urgency, we are able to use that fund. Similarly, vote 50 is specifically for our Canadian Armed Forces should they need any urgent funding, so that we don't get into the long process of getting into estimates. Because Canadians are watching and this is a very important question—

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

My time is short. Can I take the floor back?

The Parliamentary Budget Officer told us that there was no breakdown available, and not because it's confidential but because the decisions hadn't been made yet. That's why we had to vote. Is that correct?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

It's really important to understand that in vote 50, this $1-billion fund is there for any urgency or emergency, as required by the Canadian Armed Forces. If any spending were done, it would be approved by Treasury Board, and it would be presented in the next parliamentary estimates. There's—

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Can I take the floor back? I have a follow-up question.

This funding becomes available only after royal assent, after the vote, which happened just a few days ago, so now you have just a few days left in the fiscal year. As I understand it, departments will have a very short window in which to spend it, so help me understand this. It looks like this money is going to be rushed out the door in the final days. That means the Liberals forced us to approve $1 billion, without a plan and without a list of projects. In actual fact, we don't even know whether the details will ever come at all.

It's $1 billion, Mr. Ali. You've accused me in the past of trying to get social media clips, but I can assure you that Canadians are very concerned about the way their money is being spent. A $1-billion blank cheque is a very big deal, and this is just me trying to follow the money. You have five days left in the fiscal year to spend $1 billion, yet we have no idea what you're going to spend it on. Does that sound like a good idea to you, sir?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Thank you for the question. You're getting into that illusion, again, that money, somehow, is being spent. I'm explaining that vote 50 is a $1-billion fund, which is there for emergency needs. Should our Canadian Armed Forces need anything, it is there. If the money would be spent—

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Do you mean, by that, in the next five days?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

—it would come to Parliament.

We had an opportunity to ask questions in Parliament. We just passed this bill two days ago in Parliament.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Will this money be spent in the next five days?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

The money is there, and we have a robust and very transparent system. The details would be coming to Parliament in the next estimates.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Can I...? I'd like to ask the following question: How much of the 2% NATO commitment is simply from reclassifying our civilian Coast Guard as military?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

I think we're here to discuss the supplementary estimates (C). This is something related to defence....

Can I respond to your question?

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

With due respect, you mentioned it in your first thing—

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Chair, I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I'm pausing the time. I have a point of order.

Go ahead, Mr. Gasparro.

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I'm sorry. Maybe I'm new to this place and I don't know how this works yet, but usually we ask the questions and the minister or whoever's here, the witness, answers. Don't we have to give them time to answer? I'm just trying to figure out how this works. Maybe you can explain it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

It is the member's time, so if the member feels they're not getting the right answer, they're welcome to interrupt.

[Vince Gasparro, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Chair, we have to give the minister a chance to respond.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

No. The time belongs to the member. If the member does not wish to allow time for a response, that's the member's time. It's just like how if someone does a five-minute speech and does not allow a time for a response, it's their use of the time.

There are times—perhaps right now I'll intervene—when the president has stated that we're not here for that discussion. However, he brought it up repeatedly and you brought it up repeatedly, the 2%, so I think it's a fair question to ask. I think Mrs. Jansen is just pressing him on that point.

We will ask everyone to stop talking over each other, though, which I think is, perhaps, to your point as well.

Can you continue, Mrs. Jansen and President Ali? You have 30 seconds left.

[Tamara Jansen, Conservative, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

I just want to reiterate the question so that it's clear. We did have this in your speech, and Mr. Gasparro spoke about it as well, with great pride. How much of the 2% NATO commitment is simply from reclassifying the civilian Coast Guard as military?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

I think it would be very small portion of that. I can ask my deputy to respond to this question, for your benefit.

[Bill Matthews]

I can be very quick, Mr. Chair.

It's a very small amount indeed because the Coast Guard's relevant activities for defence were already counted when they were part of Fisheries and Oceans.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

We're out of time. Would you be able to get back to the committee with an exact number?

[Bill Matthews]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Wonderful.

We now go to Ms. Khalid for five minutes.