Human Resources Committee on May 30th, 2023

[The Chair (Mr. Robert Morrissey (Egmont, Lib.)), Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 70 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

Today’s meeting is taking place in a hybrid format. Members are appearing virtually and in the room.

To ensure an orderly meeting, please direct your questions and comments through the chair.

You also have the option of choosing to speak in the official language of your choice. If there's an issue with interpretation, please get my attention and we'll suspend while it's being corrected. Sound checks have been done.

I must remind members that screenshots of the meeting while it's in proceedings are not allowed.

Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the committee will begin its study on main estimates 2023-24 and the subject matter of supplementary estimates (C) 2022-23 during the first hour. During the last hour we will resume consideration in camera of the draft report for the study on housing.

I would like to welcome our witnesses.

Today we have the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. Welcome back, Minister. It's good to see you again.

We have the Honourable Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Labour, and the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, who has been at the committee numerous times. We have departmental staff who are here to assist the ministers on any particular questions.

Before I open the floor, it's my understanding that the ministers are not doing opening statements. We will be going directly to questions. It is my intention to follow the same speaking routine as the normal meeting, in which the first round is six minutes each, followed with the normal sequence.

With that, committee members, I will open the floor to questions, beginning with Mrs. Falk for six minutes or whatever timeline.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

That's wonderful. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I just want to thank each of you, ministers, for making the time to come to our committee. I appreciate it when we have your availability to come here so that we can ask questions.

Our employment insurance program discriminates against adoptive and intended parents by providing them with 15 fewer weeks of leave as they grow their families. We know that the Liberal government has promised to address this discrimination for adoptive parents since 2019. Earlier this year, the minister made the same promise to intended parents. Despite these repeated promises, these families remain at a disadvantage and children continue to miss out on this additional time to attach with their parents.

Minister Qualtrough, on what date will adoptive and intended parents receive equal parental benefits?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

I remain committed to introducing an adoptive benefit as part of our parental benefits suite, because we need to make our parental benefits fair for everyone. This will be included as part of our EI modernization package. I look forward to releasing the plan for that and the timeline associated with that as soon as possible.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Can't you do that today?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

I cannot today, no.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Parents of adoptive children should not have to continue to wait for parity when it comes to our benefits system. I have put forward a private member's bill, Bill C-318, which will deliver parity.

Minister, will you provide the royal recommendation for this bill to pass and to finally give adoptive and intended parents the time they need and deserve with their child or children, and not do it on your own timeline, because we already have something before the House? Will you do that for adoptive and intended parents by providing that royal recommendation?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

I'm not currently in a position to answer that question, but I can reaffirm our commitment to a 15-week adoption benefit at this point.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Are you advocating at the cabinet for royal recommendation for this private member's bill?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Of course I can't reveal cabinet confidence, but I am a champion for an adoptive parent benefit.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Actions speak louder than words, Minister.

I would like to pass my time to MP Gray.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all the ministers for being here today.

My questions will be for Minister Qualtrough.

Recently, the Senate returned Bill C-22, the Canada disability benefit act, with several amendments. Canadians want to see this legislation come into force quickly.

Minister, are you accepting all of the Senate amendments?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

We are reviewing the Senate amendments, but as all of you know, I am committed to doing what it takes to get the disability benefit legislation through. Thanks to the work of all of us across parties, with the all-party support that led to the Senate amendments, I'm confident that we'll be able to work together and get it done.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Minister, when will you be putting a motion on notice with your intentions, so that Canadians know what amendments you are accepting?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Very soon.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Does that mean you're planning on putting it through this week? What are your intentions with respect to when we should expect to see this?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

I don't think I can share that at this point. I apologize.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

We know that we have a few more weeks here before the House rises for the summer. Is it your intention to bring this forward to the House before then?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Yes, absolutely.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Last year, you told this committee that you expected it to take about 12 months to develop all the regulations for who's applicable and what they would receive for the disability benefit, with the rollout in early 2024. That's in seven months.

Are you still committed to that timeline?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

We are still committed to the timeline of the 12-month regulatory process. If we get royal assent by the end of June—again, that is my intention, and hopefully we'll all work together to make that happen—then we should make that timeline, yes.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Minister, just to be clear for everyone, the timeline has now extended from...it was originally going to be early in 2024, and now it is later in 2024.

Is that correct?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Yes.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

The next thing I wanted to ask was.... It's come to light that your department, ESDC, had 62 employees whose security clearance was revoked between 2019 and 2023, including one employee whose clearance was revoked due to “spying or otherwise acting on behalf of a foreign government.”

When were you first briefed on these security clearances being revoked?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Delta, BC]

We are updated on human resource situations if there is a security consequence.

I think, J.-F., you're probably the best one to describe it—obviously without the confidentiality piece.

[Jean-François Tremblay, Deputy Minister, Department of Employment and Social Development]

On the security clearance, as you mentioned, we have something like five or seven per year. That's usually the number.

This is a process that is done internally, inside the public service. It could be for many reasons. It could be just because of some concern. It doesn't mean that all those people are guilty of something. The minister's office will be told only if there's an impact on their work. It's only if there's really a security issue in a context that could be a risk for the minister and her role.