Human Resources Committee on Nov. 4th, 2020

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Thanks for that question. It's something that keeps me up at night.

The COVID disability advisory group, as I said, was invaluable. In fact, I met with them 14 times over a period of months, trying to make sure that we were connecting in the spirit of Nothing Without Us, with the community on the ground. They advised Health Canada. They advised the Minister of Communities. They really had tentacles into our entire pandemic response.

The big lesson learned, as I said, is that as much as we wanted to get direct support out quickly to our citizens with disabilities, we really didn't actually have a way to identify or directly pay all of our citizens with disabilities. Disability supports fall under provincial jurisdiction historically, and we know that we need to do better as a federal government in terms of addressing that. We have a way to pay families. We have a way to pay seniors. We have a tax credit, the DTC, that serves, as I said, a gatekeeping function of sorts. We also have some programs through VAC and some programs through ESDC with the CPP disability, but really what we need and what we're committed to do is directly identify and interact with our citizens with disabilities, not through the tax system, but through an eligibility system based on a moderate and respectful understanding of disability. That's what we're going to do.

That's certainly what has been called for for a long time, and I'm very excited to embark upon that work. We're going to transition the disability advisory group—I think I might scoop in my own announcement here—into a permanent group, but they're going to keep working with us to help us make good on our promises around disability inclusion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Ms. Young.

Ms. Chabot, you may go ahead for two and a half minutes.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, as you know, we will be urging the government to overhaul the employment insurance system, and we think the current measures could provide the foundation for that reform.

What options is the government considering to rebuild, if you will, the employment insurance program?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

That's a broad question.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

I know you need more than two minutes to answer.

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

We want to make it responsive to the way Canadians work and include more Canadians who haven't historically had access to EI in the way that we would. I think of part-time workers, gig workers, precariously employed workers. How we build a modern system that reflects how people work today and not how people worked historically is, I think, the starting point of our discussions on EI.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

I am going to switch topics. We know the IT systems were subject to security breaches. Data was stolen and access vulnerabilities were identified. The proper checks couldn't be carried out.

Has any funding been allocated to modernize the IT systems, to make them more secure, especially with respect to telework?

[Graham Flack]

Yes, absolutely.

Supplementary estimates (B) includes a small portion of funding for the new system we want to build, under the heading “funding for benefits delivery modernization”. The program has stronger security systems than those currently in place.

We are also drawing on our own resources to fund system improvements to address cybersecurity risks. I have to tell you, the challenge is never-ending: the method of attack is different every time, so we are always making changes to the system. We can never say the work is done and the system is secure, because people find new ways every day to launch attacks. We have internal funding to make system improvements, and funding has been earmarked for the new system, which will have extensive security features.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Mr. Flack and Ms. Chabot.

Next we have Ms. Gazan, please, for two and a half minutes.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, earlier this summer you stated, “Students...face serious challenges as a result of the global pandemic, and these unique circumstances call for unique action.”

As a post-secondary educator for almost 20 years, I would criticize your government for having almost complete inaction with students. In fact, I would say that the Liberal government has failed students, first with the WE program, with the assumption that students, many of whom are living in poverty, would be expected to work for under minimum wage in any circumstance, and then with that program being taken away as a result of the scandal with the Liberal government, never to be replaced with another program. Then there was zero mention of students in the throne speech.

It's problematic now. To top it off, the grace period for paying back student loans is now over, and many students were not able to work this summer as a result of the pandemic, forcing them to lose housing or even not go back to school because they lack the funds. We know that students are critical to rebuilding Canada's economy, and that requires an educated and financially stable workforce.

Minister, why are students continuing to be left out of the discussion for supports that will allow them to be successful in achieving their educational goals?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

In the Speech from the Throne, we committed to significantly scaling up our youth employment and skills strategy to provide more paid work experiences for students, recognizing that historically, economic shocks like the one we're currently facing have disproportionately impacted students.

Our $8-billion investment of the student benefit, the thousands of jobs, doubling the Canada student grant and adding flexibility to the student loan program have really been well received by the student population.

We have 700,000 students who received the CESB, a significant portion of whom got the enhanced $750 a month for students with disabilities or students with dependents. I can assure you that our entire cabinet is committed to ensuring that youth recover and flourish post-pandemic. Specifically, the Minister of Youth and I are very determined to make sure that their voices are heard at every step.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Ms. Gazan.

Colleagues, we are going to suspend now in order to allow Minister Hussen and his team to come in, because we have a hard stop at six o'clock.

Minister Qualtrough, we hope to have you back on the supplementary estimates to continue this discussion. We thank you and your officials very much for being here with us today. We'll see you soon.

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

It was my pleasure, and take care. I'm happy to come back at any time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you.

We're suspended while we allow for a mike check for our next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

We're back in session.

I'd like to welcome our witnesses, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development; Catherine Adam, senior assistant deputy minister, strategic and service pay policy branch; Janet Goulding, associate assistant deputy minister, income security and social development branch; Cliff Groen, senior assistant deputy minister, Service Canada benefit service delivery branch; and Lori MacDonald, senior associate deputy minister, ESDC, and chief operating officer for Service Canada.

Welcome back as well to Mark Perlman, chief financial officer, Employment and Social Development.

We also have Evan Siddall, president and CEO, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; and Lisa Williams, chief financial officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Minister Hussen, you have the floor.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order. It's unacceptable that the original two hours with ministers and their officials was reduced to one hour. We accepted that reluctantly. Today was supposed to have been one hour with ministers and one hour with their officials separately. We got 45 minutes in the first hour, and I understand you're going to cut this to perhaps 30 minutes.

In booking these arrangements, we have to realize that even with reduced House facilities to enable meetings—and we appreciate all the work that goes into that—it is well known, and it's a protocol that's been accepted, that House votes are held on Mondays and on Wednesdays. I think it's unacceptable that you're going to curtail this hour as you curtailed the first one.

I think it's perfectly acceptable that those who have booked this facility for 6:30 be delayed, as we were.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Mr. Kent, you make an entirely fair point. Our late start was a function of the votes and the time it took to get everyone set up. The hard stop we have at six o'clock is because there is another commitment in the room at 6:30, and the COVID protocols require some time in between to change from one meeting to the next.

The best I can do, Mr. Kent, as we go through the questions and answers, is that we can perhaps have some discussions away from the meeting and have the clerk get on his phone and email to see if we can get the 6:30 meeting pushed back so we can get a full hour here for the full two rounds. That's the best we can do in these circumstances.

You raised an entirely fair point. We were unable to get the OGGO committee to relent so that we could have that extra time. I expect that's also the committee that is due in at 6:30.

Thank you for raising the point. I really wish we could do more.

Minister Hussen, you have five minutes for your opening statements. You have the floor.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and committee members.

Thank you for inviting me to join you today to speak to the 2020-21 main estimates and supplementary estimates (B) for Employment and Social Development Canada.

Five years ago, our government introduced a plan to build up Canada's middle class, create jobs and help struggling families. I am pleased to say our plan is working.

It is with this same determination that we established emergency measures helping Canadians throughout the pandemic.

Allow me to provide an overview of the measures implemented under my portfolios.

On homelessness and Reaching Home,

the safety and well-being of Canadians is our number one priority.

This includes providing support to those who are at risk of homelessness or who are experiencing it.

In the early days of the pandemic, we increased support through the Reaching Home program by injecting $15 million into it so that cities with the largest population of individuals experiencing homelessness could deal with the urgent pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This amount of $15 million was followed quickly by an additional $157.5 million to provide additional support on top of the base amount as the full impact of the pandemic grew. This money was also made flexible so that municipalities and community entities could use it for whatever they felt was necessary to combat COVID-19 among Canada's homeless population.

In September 2020, we announced an additional $236.5-million investment to help communities maintain and expand the emergency response to COVID-19 and to provide them with the flexibility to deliver permanent housing solutions for those experiencing homelessness, as well as to prevent further inflows into homelessness through the upcoming winter.

It is our responsibility as a government to ensure that communities are able to quickly build affordable housing to meet the rising needs. That is why we recently launched the new $1-billion rapid housing initiative. This will help create approximately 3,000 new affordable housing units in cities right across the country.

To relieve financial pressures on Canadian homeowners who may have lost income due to COVID-19, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in coordination with private mortgage insurers, implemented measures early during the pandemic to allow homeowners to temporarily defer payments on insured mortgages. Homeowners have the opportunity to benefit from a temporary short-term deferral or reamortization of mortgage payments ensured through CMHC.

On early learning and child care and supports for parents in working class families, child care is a necessity. This pandemic has reinforced the need for parents to be able to access safe and affordable child care. That is why in July we announced the safe restart agreement to help provinces and territories to access $625 million so that the child care sector can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to that, with the bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, we've also invested an additional $400 million, for a total of $1.2 billion to support child care in 2020-21. This is a record amount, Mr. Chair. We're committed to working with provinces and territories to make child care even more accessible and affordable by setting up a Canada-wide early learning and child care system that is more affordable than ever before.

To address the evolving needs of parents during the pandemic, we have modified the Canada child benefit by sending an additional $300 in May of this year to every child receiving the Canada child benefit, and permanently increasing once again the Canada child benefit in July of this year.

Charities and non-profits have also experienced increasing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic for services in communities right across the country at a time when they are facing fewer donations and fewer volunteers. That is why I'm proud of the fact that earlier this year our government announced that it would be investing $350 million through the emergency community support fund to support vulnerable Canadians. I want to report to the committee that the majority of that money has been spent on vulnerable Canadians, and the remaining amount will be disbursed very soon.

Minister Qualtrough has already spoken about our emergency responses to replace employment income lost by Canadians: the CERB and the wage subsidy. At the outset of the pandemic, nearly $9 million was received in much-needed income support to make ends meet when people were not able to work. Now with the Canada recovery benefit and the reformed EI, we will make sure we have the backs of workers.

Honourable members, the items outlined in the supplementary estimates process today address the priorities of the Government of Canada and demonstrate our clear commitment to Canadians.

There is no doubt that the financial resources requested will enable us to continue this important work on behalf of Canadians.

I would be very pleased to answer any questions that my fellow members of Parliament have for me.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sean Casey]

Thank you, Minister.

We're going to start with the Conservatives.

We have Mr. Schmale, please, for six minutes.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister, for being here.

I understand that the CMHC is being rebranded. Can you tell me how much this is going to cost and why, given the fact that they have a basic monopoly in the marketplace, they need to do that?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Since this is an internal CMHC issue, I want to turn to the CEO to answer that question.

[Evan Siddall, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation]

I'm happy to respond to that. Thank you, Minister.

Thank you for the question.

No decision has been definitively made to rebrand the company. In fact, we have not been using public funds for that purpose. We've been using internal resources—no external resources.

It's meant to align with a new strategy that we as a group, we as a company, arrived at with our board last year, and it's that we aim that by 2030 everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs. We wanted a brand that was consistent with that.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

I appreciate that, but really, you have a near monopoly in the marketplace, so why does it really matter what your name is?

[Evan Siddall]

We do compete with private sector companies in the insurance space. Just as other public sector entities—museums, the EDC, the BDC—have rebranded themselves, it's an appropriate way to present ourselves to our client base, we believe.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Do you fear that you're going to lose business because of a name?