Government Operations Committee on April 23rd, 2026

[Michael Hammond]

One of the areas that come up quite often is procurement. It's a very challenging process to navigate, and the department is taking steps, as I mentioned, and looking at AI tools to help support businesses in that regard to have better access to the information they need to participate in the procurement process.

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

As you're identifying current processes that need modernizing and you're integrating AI, how are you supporting public servants through this transition?

[Michael Hammond]

We have obviously been supporting our employees as they transition. We've made available a number of AI tools internally. We have access to the Copilot tool within the Microsoft suite in the department, and we're ensuring that our employees have access to that tool and are able to use it to effectively do their work and help streamline some of the processes they use in order to deliver for Canadians.

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

If there are employees who, let's say, are less willing to work with AI and upgrade some of their skills, have you noticed any significant uptake of the early retirement incentive program?

[Michael Hammond]

I'll turn to Kiran for more details around the ERI program and the take-up at PSPC.

You obviously have seen in the news the overall take-up by the Government of Canada, and PSPC has also seen a number of applications come in from employees who may wish to be considered for that particular program.

Kiran, do you want to add anything on that?

[Kiran Hanspal]

We do have uptake, and we have put in place processes to ensure we're reviewing the applications based on the three criteria that were determined by Treasury Board and to make sure we're aligned with them.

So far, the processes have already been put into play, and we're reviewing them. The deadline for applications is July 24, so after that we'll be able to get a clear sense of where the reductions will happen.

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

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Ms. Gaudreau, you have the floor.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

My questions will be very specific. If you are unable to answer them, I would appreciate receiving your responses in writing at a later date.

In concrete terms, how much does our dependence on U.S. digital service providers cost us each year?

[Scott Davis]

I'll respond to this question.

I'd like to send you a response in writing.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Excellent. That's fine.

[Scott Davis]

With regard to our suppliers, 81% are complying with the buy Canadian policy.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

That's because we were talking about Copilot, Microsoft, and all that. So, I'd like to know the exact figure.

Who really controls our data—the government or the providers?

[Scott Davis]

We do. I testified before the Senate last week, and we discussed where, at the federal level, our data is being stored.

I’d like to correct myself slightly, because my answer was a bit vague. Today, I’m ready to give a precise answer: 86% of our data is in a federal data centre managed by Shared Services Canada, and 14% is with cloud providers, most of whom comply with the buy Canadian rule. Even when the providers are American or foreign, as in the case of the companies you mentioned, all the data is here in Canada.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

It's worth noting, however, that we're dependent on the tech giants to keep our digital infrastructure running.

[Scott Davis]

Generally speaking, that's true for a number of countries.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

This is a concern for me, because there's a question we need to ask ourselves about our suppliers. I’m just thinking about the devices we have here at the House of Commons. We have products from Apple and Microsoft, but other suppliers are possible.

Are you planning to review this from a procurement perspective?

[Scott Davis]

We're working hard on this to help Canadian companies continue to learn, step by step. It's a rather interesting request when it comes to buying domestically.

In fact, we're working with Canadian suppliers to address this situation, which puts us at risk.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

There’s certainly a lot of talk about public service cuts. On the other hand, I must admit that we’re also talking about private contracts. I wonder why we’re cutting internally. We have our staff, our expertise. People are worried. Yesterday, in committee, we were talking about people who are in therapy because they’re filled with anxiety while they wait to find out what will happen in September.

How do these examples produce the exact opposite of the outcome we actually want to achieve to be effective?

Are we going to limit our external contracts?

[Scott Davis]

We’re going to leverage our external contracts to generate future profits and avoid relying on legacy systems. That’s the key message I mentioned earlier. In English, we talk about legacy systems, which are the outdated systems we used to rely on. We’re trying to get rid of them as quickly as possible so we can focus on the future.

[Pauline Rochefort, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

I have a point of order.

Could you ask the witness to speak louder? I'm not using the translation. I can't hear.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Could you speak a bit closer to your microphone, Mr. Davis?

[Scott Davis]

I've been told I have a big mouth from time to time, but apparently....

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Please continue.