Human Resources Committee on Feb. 10th, 2022

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

The community services recovery fund is a $400-million fund that is designed to help community organizations recover and particularly to modernize how they deliver services. Throughout the pandemic, we saw that many community organizations had to pivot how they delivered services, but as you mentioned, Ms. Zarrillo, we also saw how much our communities rely on these organizations.

We've put out a call for proposals for organizations that can help us manage these funds nationally, much like the emergency fund that was provided at the height of the pandemic. We've solicited proposals from the Community Foundations of Canada, the United Way and the Red Cross, but we've also opened it up to other organizations to apply. Then each of those organizations would be responsible for managing the distribution of those funds to community-level partners.

What's really important is that they can't limit the delivery of those funds to their existing partners. It has to be broad-based.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

There are a couple of things, but I'm just going to ask specifically about operating funds. I think the biggest thing that has been missing for some of these organizations is operating funds.

I want to preface this by saying that the NDP would rather see taxation increased, especially among the wealthiest people in Canada, so that we wouldn't have to rely so heavily on community groups. We love to see community groups out in the community surviving and being able to plan ahead, so operating funds are a big piece.

Is that part of this fund or that RFP, or is this strictly to distribute funds?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Minister, please provide just a short answer.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Well, a portion of them might be able to be used for operating funds in the context of the project they are putting forward, but these are not specifically operating funds.

The idea is to provide a fund, and it's something we actually heard from community organizations. This is in direct response to their request to have access to funds to help them modernize the delivery of their services, to adapt and to pivot to the world we're living in today. In response to very extensive consultations that my predecessor led throughout the summer, that's how the structure has been funded.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Minister; and thank you, Madame Zarrillo.

Minister, if your schedule permits, we have two final questioners to finish the second round, with five minutes to Mr. Ruff and five minutes to Mr. Coteau.

Seeing no disagreement from the committee, I will proceed to Mr. Ruff for five minutes.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Thanks, Chair; and thanks, Minister, for coming.

My first couple of questions will be around child care as well, and then if we have time, I'll have one about seniors. They are fairly straightforward questions.

As to my first question, I represent a rural riding in Ontario, so I acknowledge that a deal has not been signed with Ontario yet, but I'm optimistic it likely will be. For rural ridings across this country, out of those 250,000 spaces that you're promising will be built and ready and delivered by 2025-26, how many are going to rural Canada? How many are dedicated? What's the criterion for a village?

I live outside a town of fewer than 1,000 people. That has been my concern around this program from day one. How is it going to help rural Canadians in places where there are no spaces in existence right now?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

It's a really excellent question.

Mr. Ruff, let me just say that I share your optimism. I do believe we will be getting an agreement with Ontario. I'm working very hard to do that.

With regard to rural Canadians, the way it works is that we ask the provinces and territories to create a certain number of spaces, and we ask that they ensure that those spaces reflect the zero-to-five population right across their province or territory. It would be no different with Ontario to ensure that every community has access to the spaces they need.

Also within these agreements, we provide infrastructure and operating cost support to build out and create new spaces.

In Ontario, there's actually quite a bit of work done by municipalities and not-for-profits. We will work with the Province to ensure that no matter where you live in the province, you will have access to day care.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Is there a percentage, though, or a number tied to that 250,000?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

It would be equivalent to the number of children who live in rural areas.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

All right. Thank you.

Tied to this is a question that my colleague asked. It's what works and who had to work. I'll mention my brother and his wife, both essential workers throughout this pandemic. There is no access to day care and child care spots, even for essential workers, due to the sheer demand. They're having to depend on family members or private caregivers to help. Is there anything in this program that will cover those private caregivers or family members who need to work? For shift workers, it's a huge challenge for families right across Canada.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

There is nothing preventing a province or territory putting forward that kind of flexible care.

I can tell you a bit about my own story. As parliamentarians, we work strange hours and in different places around the country. I had the amazing opportunity to use the services of Andrew Fleck here in Ottawa, which is a not-for-profit day care that provides flexible home care outside of their hours as well as care at the centre. Those options are there.

I know there are providers in Alberta that have after-hours care that is specifically dedicated for essential workers. If they are licensed providers and the province works with them, they can absolutely qualify for this support.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

All right.

Minister, I am a single father 50% of the time. My daughter has attended a lot here in the House of Commons over the last two years, and I know Ms. Goodridge's newborn has been here lots of times as well.

My final question is tied to the part of your mandate letter stating that you need to work with the Minister of Seniors to provide seniors with a single point of access to a wide range of government services and benefits. Could you update the committee on the progress in simplifying access to those benefits and services for Canadians who, frankly, have trouble navigating the Internet and lack digital literacy, and even more importantly for many in my riding, just do not have access to the Internet?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Yes, of course. It's a really important question, and I'm working very closely with Minister Khera on this aspect.

One of the first things that we're advancing on and hope to be able to deliver on soon is automatic enrolment for OAS and GIS, because as you mentioned, for many seniors navigating the Internet can be quite challenging, and maybe they don't even have access to the Internet.

We're also looking at the various access points that we have for seniors, whether it is the OAS or CPP call centre or 1-800-O-Canada or just general Service Canada offices. We're looking at how we can best support them to make sure they have the access they need, no matter which door they open.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Ruff.

We will go to Mr. Coteau for five minutes. I will go to Madame Zarrillo and Madame Chabot for one and a half minutes to wrap up so that everything is fair.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll share my time with MP Martinez Ferrada. I'll give her half the time if she wants to use it.

I have a question, Minister, specifically about the supporting Black Canadian communities initiative. When I first heard about this program, I was really excited. As you know, there are a lot of disparities for the Black community. When you look at the average numbers in a city like mine, there is a very high homicide rate in the Black community and large challenges around unemployment and disproportionate rates of incarceration. It's a huge challenge in communities like Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and in many other parts of this country as well.

What success have you found in this program? In the last budget, we increased the allocation by $100 million. What success are you seeing in this program, and why did the government think there was a need to expand this program?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Coteau, for that question. I think it's really important, and I think it's really important in the context of Black History Month as well.

We've also seen and heard very clearly from the Black community that this fund is important and that it matters. If we're going to get to equality, we need to have equity. That means we need to have specific investments in Black Canadians and Black communities to make sure that they have access and opportunities. It's come to light so very clearly over the past couple of years, even though we've known this, that there are real systemic barriers that Black Canadians face. We need to address those. We also need to give Black Canadians the opportunity to enable themselves and empower themselves.

I want to share a couple of examples of success that we've seen so far. The first one is a project called Shoot for Peace, which proposes the purchase of photography equipment and software to improve the photography and arts programs serving youth in the Black community within the Regent Park neighbourhood in Toronto. The Olive Branch of Hope project looks to increase awareness for older women cancer survivors by delivering virtual programs and training sessions to those at higher risk for more serious health outcomes during the pandemic.

I could go on and on and on. There are some really incredible initiatives being led by Black Canadians that we're very proud to support.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Madame Ferrada, you have two minutes.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Madam Minister, I'd like to quickly go back to your comments about Service Canada. You talked about the exceptional work of public servants and how the department responded to the needs of Canadians during the pandemic.

You mentioned that prior to the Omicron variant wave, there was a tremendous amount of demand. The Omicron variant exacerbated the situation, resulting in an increase in the number of applications to Service Canada. You talked about the measures that were taken.

Can you elaborate on the measures that were put in place during the pandemic and the demands related to the Omicron variant?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Yes, of course.

I'll start answering, and then Ms. MacDonald and Mr. Groen can add comments, if necessary.

We have seen a huge increase in requests since the start of the pandemic. We have doubled the number of agents in the call centres, and we have reorganized services between regions to respond more quickly to requests. We have hired contract workers at Service Canada to meet the ever-increasing demands.

Service Canada is always monitoring call volumes and making adjustments to meet all demands. I want to assure all members of the committee that public servants are taking this situation very seriously and are keeping me informed on a daily basis so that we can make the necessary adjustments to meet the needs of Canadians.

Ms. MacDonald or Mr. Groen, would you like to add any comments?

[Cliff C. Groen, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Benefits and Integrated Services Branch, Service Canada, Department of Employment and Social Development]

Yes, thank you, Minister.

Since the pandemic, and especially in the current fiscal year, the results show that the timelines for the provision of employment insurance services are shorter than they have been in the last 15 years. Although we have received many more claims this year than in previous years, the average time to process claims is 16 days, which is the shortest time in the last 15 years.

We were also able to process EI claims within our service standard 88% of the time. This represents an 8% improvement over the two years prior to the pandemic.

We recognize that there are still many claims to process and we take this situation very seriously. That is why we are very proud of our results in terms of service delivery.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Groen.

We'll go to Madame Chabot for a short question, and then we'll end with Madame Zarrillo.

Go ahead, Madame Chabot.

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

Is it my turn to ask questions, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Yes, Madame Chabot. You have one and a half minutes.