Evidence of meeting #6 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was mental.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Thanks very much.
To Mr. Robertson, just to be clear, your department, while it sets up safety protocols and employment standards in federally regulated work environments, doesn't actually manage the individual complaints between an employee and an employer until they are raised to the level of formal processes that you have governance over. Is that right?
Acting Deputy Minister, Labour Program, Department of Employment and Social Development
Yes. The normal refusal-to-work process requires an employee to approach their supervisor with the issue. If it can't be resolved there, they go to the occupational health and safety committee. If the committee members can't come to a conclusion that's suitable to everyone, then it becomes a formal complaint to the labour program. At that point, we have a formal role.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
In relation to the complaint that Mr. Vis highlighted, you'd be unaware of the fact that Minister Blair, for example, didn't respond in writing but took the extraordinary step to include both him and the MP for Abbotsford, Mr. Fast, in a telephone call with the commissioner of corrections, an extraordinary step that normally doesn't ever happen. Instead of writing a letter, they actually put them in touch with the person overseeing corrections facilities and the complaint process therein.
You wouldn't be aware of that because it wouldn't have been raised to your attention.
Acting Deputy Minister, Labour Program, Department of Employment and Social Development
It wouldn't be associated with our department's correspondence, so no, I would not be aware.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
In the same vein, you would be unaware of whether or not Public Health Agency of Canada issued directives to the provinces around safety standards in shelters and on front-line services serving vulnerable populations, especially in congregate living. You'd be unaware of whether or not Minister Hajdu actually issued directives and guidelines to provinces and municipalities and to indigenous governments around the operation of safe shelters. You wouldn't know that unless a complaint was forwarded to you under your jurisdiction, and you wouldn't have carriage of those standards being set or distributed to provincial governments.
Acting Deputy Minister, Labour Program, Department of Employment and Social Development
That's correct. The only awareness I would have is what tipsheets the CCOHS has issued.
Yes, you're right. From a complaint perspective I wouldn't have visibility into that.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
You wouldn't have jurisdiction to impose standards on provincial governments like the provincial government in Manitoba vis-à-vis health standards for front-line workers in the municipal or provincial health shelter system.
Acting Deputy Minister, Labour Program, Department of Employment and Social Development
That would be correct.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
In terms of Service Canada, it's good to hear that we continue to make progress on reopenings.
My understanding is that the small percentage of centres that haven't been reopened have been entirely because of health and safety concerns raised by workers. That's what prevented those openings. It's that and a secondary problem, which is the inability to hire security guards to manage the crowds accessing Service Canada. Those are the two major hurdles. Would you be aware of those as being the challenges?
Acting Deputy Minister, Labour Program, Department of Employment and Social Development
I would maybe turn this one to Mark Perlman because he's responsible for accommodations in ESDC and would be more aware than I would be.
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development
Yes, Mr. Chair, that's exactly the reason behind it—it is to make sure. There is also the configuration of some of our smaller centres, where it's just very difficult to find the two-metre distancing to keep the safety for everybody out there.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
The only concern was, much like the concern raised by Mr. Vis around workers inside federal penitentiaries, that workers inside Service Canada shouldn't be subjected to unhealthy or unsafe workplaces.
Conservative
Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC
I have a point of order. It wasn't my concern. It was directly quoted from—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Mr. Vis, that's not a point of order.
We're into argument here. He's allowed to ask those questions.
Go ahead, Mr. Vaughan.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
As I said, it's the article that he quoted, to be fair. It wasn't him who did the investigation or found this issue. It was from the reporting in an article and the conversation he had with a worker there.
The goal here, inside Service Canada, is to keep workers safe, the public safe and to manage a process as best as it can, based on physical limitations that an office might have. Is that not—
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development
That is absolutely correct.
We have also made sure that we've had enhanced cleaning, plexiglass, hand sanitizer, masks as well as appropriate signage and wayfinding. It's all about making sure that everyone, from all angles, is being protected.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Despite that, we have close to 90% reopened.
We also have staffed up the call centres at Service Canada with additional personnel to take the overflow, even though we're close to 100% now of reopening.
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development
Yes, sir, we have done that and we have also expanded our e-services offering to compensate for the in-person service.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Are we still looking to hire commissionaires or security personnel to help facilitate the reopening of the remaining few? Is that a job offer that's gone unmet so far?
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development
We are doing contracts with various organizations to try to find the appropriate people in the various locations.
Liberal
Adam Vaughan Liberal Spadina—Fort York, ON
Again, the paramount directive here is to make sure, when we reopen, we open safely both for the public and for staff to make sure we don't inadvertently, as we help people get through the COVID pandemic, deliver COVID to them. That's been the prime focus here.
November 24th, 2020 / 8:35 p.m.
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development
That has been our focus.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you very much, Mr. Vaughan.
Thank you, Mr. Perlman.
That concludes the time that we have for questions.
I want to thank all of the officials for being with us, at least here on the east coast, well into the evening. Thank you for the work you do serving Canadians and parliamentarians. You have been extremely helpful. I wish you all a good evening.
To my colleagues and to all of the support people who make it happen, thanks a lot, everyone. Have a good evening, everyone. Thank you.
If there is nothing else, we are okay to adjourn.
By consensus, we are adjourned.