Government Operations Committee on May 26th, 2026

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

Will they rotate between—

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

I apologize, but that is our time. Thanks very much.

We'll finish with Ms. Rochefort, please.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thought I would pursue the same line of questioning as my colleague Madame Jansen, if I may. Could you answer with a yes, a no or maybe a very short reply, if that's appropriate?

Does this policy give a clear and measurable advantage to companies with a real footprint in Canada? Do businesses that invest here employ Canadians and contribute to local economies?

Please answer with a yes, a no or a very short answer.

[Dominic Laporte]

Yes, it really drives.... The goal is to become our best customer when we procure, when we buy as a government, and to lead by example on that front, so yes.

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

Thank you.

I have a second question. Will federal procurements prioritize bids that feature greater Canadian content, which includes manufacturing, research and development and other economic activities that occur domestically?

Please answer with a yes, a no or a very short answer.

[Dominic Laporte]

Yes. The more Canadian content you provide, the more likely you're going to be the successful bidder.

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

Thank you.

Does this updated definition of Canadian suppliers add specificity to our procurement criteria and is it designed to ensure that Canadian-based companies, Canadian workforces and Canadian industries are prioritized for investment and growth?

Can you provide a yes-or-no answer and maybe expand on that? Is there a vision there?

[Dominic Laporte]

Yes. In the past, under the Canadian suppliers definition, the only thing you needed was a mailbox in order to receive government contracts. We wanted to take the Canadian Free Trade Agreement definition and add a layer to it that would include a Canadian presence and Canadian employment. This has been done to ensure that those that are going to be benefiting from buy Canadian are businesses that are keeping employees, that are creating jobs in Canada and that are also paying taxes in Canada.

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

Thank you.

Will this approach strengthen our supply chains, as my colleague asked a moment ago, create good jobs across the country, diversify our economy and ensure that federal investments benefit Canadian industries and workers, even when foreign suppliers are involved?

Can you provide a yes-or-no answer and maybe a comment on foreign suppliers that are involved in our country?

[Dominic Laporte]

Yes. The goal is not to prevent foreign suppliers from bidding on Canadian opportunities. Buy Canadian opportunities are not to exclude our trading partners. If they, for example, have corporations in Canada, they're able to bid. The goal is really to incentivize Canadian content.

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

Why is it so important to ensure that foreign suppliers can also bid on our contracts? What would be the impact of that, and why is that essential?

[Dominic Laporte]

That's an excellent question.

We want to make sure that we have very successful companies in Canada that are also doing business outside Canada and are bidding on opportunities at the state level, at the federal level in the U.S., in Europe and across the world. They don't want to be cut off from the market. They expect reciprocal treatment. If we were to drill down on ownership, we would be putting at risk the ability of these businesses to be successful in foreign markets.

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

Do you find an alignment with the policy that Canada is coming forward with in terms of how it compares to other countries? I read the buy American policy. How would you define our policy vis-à-vis the American one?

[Dominic Laporte]

I'm not an expert in trade law, so I wouldn't want to draw comparisons. Many jurisdictions around the world are taking measures that are similar in nature to the buy Canadian measures.

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

At this point, has the policy been rolled out across the different departments in the government?

[Dominic Laporte]

Yes, it has been rolled out. Maybe I can turn to Clinton to talk about some of these efforts.

[Clinton Lawrence-Whyte]

As part of our implementation of the buy Canadian initiative, we have been engaging with other departments to ensure their readiness is progressing as it has been implemented. For example, we have a key forum we use to engage at the buyer level across departments called the client advisory board.

We've gone to this board a number of times providing updates as the policies have been evolving. We're able to answer questions and raise awareness in terms of what is coming, so that, as we're gearing up to advance different steps related to the buy Canadian initiative, our colleagues in the departments are also going to be ready.

There's still quite a lot of work to be done, but we try to make sure that consultation is a part of it.

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

I have a quick question. Do you know how many dollars that represents so far with the implementation that has occurred?

[Clinton Lawrence-Whyte]

I wouldn't be able to put a value on that, but I would say, in a sense, that these are procurement responsibilities that are ongoing, and this is an added element that they need to take into consideration with respect to procurements that would likely continue. It's just the nature of how they are taking place.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thanks very much.

We're going to suspend for a few minutes to get our next witnesses in.

Thanks for being with us again, and we'll maybe see you back for supplementary estimates (A).

We're suspended for a few moments.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

We're back, everyone. Thank you for your patience.

Welcome back to our colleagues from Treasury Board.

Do you have an opening statement, Mr. Krumins?

Wonderful. The floor is yours for five minutes, please.

[Martin Krumins, Assistant Comptroller General, Financial Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee today.

My name is Martin Krumins, assistant comptroller general for the financial management sector at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

I'm here today with my colleagues: Michelle Kealey, acting executive director for financial management and transfer payments, and Emilio Franco, executive director of the procurement and materiel directorate. We are pleased to be here to speak about grants and contributions, as well as our work supporting the implementation of the buy Canadian policy.

At the Office of the Comptroller General, we provide government-wide direction in areas such as financial management, internal audit, investment planning, procurement and project management, as well as management of real property, materiel and transfer payments—also known as grants and contributions. Grants and contributions are governed by the Treasury Board policy on transfer payments, which sets out roles, responsibilities and requirements for their management. The objective is to ensure that these programs respond to government priorities, deliver results for Canadians and are managed with integrity, transparency and accountability.

Control mechanisms are in place throughout the process. Departments must first obtain policy approval for programs and then seek Treasury Board approval for terms and conditions, which establish the parameters for transfer payments, including objectives, funding, expected results and eligibility criteria.

In terms of roles and responsibilities, departments are responsible for designing and implementing their grants and contributions programs, ensuring that appropriate practices and requirements are commensurate with risks. They are also responsible for monitoring compliance and performance through reporting to ensure that programs are achieving their intended results.

The Office of the Comptroller General supports the management of grants and contributions by ensuring that terms and conditions align with cabinet direction and the policy on transfer payments. The OCG plays a government-wide leadership and oversight role by promoting sound management practices, monitoring compliance and supporting the transfer payments community.

Let me now turn to the buy Canadian policy and our role in supporting its implementation in grants and contributions.

I understand that you spoke with PSPC earlier. In terms of our roles, PSPC is responsible for developing and implementing the buy Canadian procurement policy framework whereas TBS supports extending this policy to grants and contributions through guidance, awareness and alignment with the pre-existing Treasury Board instruments. By extending the policy to grants and contributions, federal funding programs can encourage recipients to prioritize and support Canadian content and suppliers as they align with program objectives and authorities.

To date, the Treasury Board Secretariat has taken a pragmatic approach by developing guidance to help departments determine where and how to integrate buy Canadian considerations. This guidance aims to ensure a consistent approach while maintaining a degree of flexibility.

Departments have also reviewed their programs to identify when buy Canadian considerations can be applied. Implementation is progressing through the integration of “buy Canadian”-related provisions into new funding agreements and, when appropriate, revisiting or renegotiating existing agreements.

Going forward, the focus will be on ensuring that funding conditions are respected, using existing oversight mechanisms, while minimizing additional burden and complexity.

In closing, Mr. Chair, the Office of the Comptroller General continues to work closely with departments to ensure that grants and contributions programs are well managed, effective and aligned with broader federal objectives, including the implementation of this policy.

We will be happy to answer your questions.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Thank you very much.

We'll start with Dr. Lewis. You have six minutes. Welcome to OGGO.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Thank you, and thank you to the witnesses for being here today.

Canadians were told that federal infrastructure spending would support Canadian workers and Canadian industries, especially during the rough periods of tariffs and economic uncertainty, yet documents that were tabled in Parliament through an Order Paper question show billions of dollars flowing to projects that depend on foreign suppliers, including foreign telecommunications equipment, and even to a foreign shipyard.

Can the government explain why the responses provided to Parliament by way of the Order Paper questions indicated that, despite the buy Canadian announcements, no contract has been signed within a clear buy Canadian framework?