Evidence of meeting #15 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was board.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Committee members, we are now back in order.
Ms. Desrochers, did you have your hand up?
Liberal
Caroline Desrochers Liberal Trois-Rivières, QC
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We're doing amendments right now. Is that right? I just want to make sure that we're not confused.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
My ruling was overturned. The motion is now debatable before the committee. The motion is on the floor.
Yes, you can move an amendment. It's open for debate.
Liberal
Caroline Desrochers Liberal Trois-Rivières, QC
Super. Thank you.
First of all, thank you very much to the committee members for putting this on the table. I think this is a very serious issue. It's one that I think is completely unacceptable. If this is the practice that committee members are hearing when they go back to their ridings, when they're engaging with companies and when they're engaging with unions, it is absolutely unacceptable and not to be tolerated.
For this reason, we are absolutely in favour of continuing this study in the direction that you're proposing, to get to the bottom of how Canadian workers are being displaced from good-paying jobs in the trades and the construction sector. We are happy to work with you on getting to the bottom of this and finding real solutions to this issue.
I think we are doing a disservice to the workers. If the intention is to get to the bottom of this, I think we are doing a disservice to this by narrowing the scope to federally funded projects. I would propose an amendment.
I will read it out: “That, in light of recent reports of illegal foreign labour being used in Canada, the committee hold at least two meetings with government officials, and representatives of the building trades across Canada to examine this issue.” I would remove “within the context of federally funded”.
We have heard in this committee from witnesses in the previous study who have raised this issue as well. Particularly, when we heard from the trades associations that were here, they told us that they were aware of non-registered, non-certified labour being used in some construction projects. I think we need to broaden the scope. I think we would do a disservice to focus only on the federally funded. That's what I would propose.
Liberal
Jessica Fancy-Landry Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Mr. Chair, through you, I'd like to do a subamendment to my colleague's amendment and strike out the words “at least”, in allowing for the two days of study.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
You want to hold two meetings.
I now have an amendment to the amendment from Ms. Fancy. Is there any discussion on the subamendment?
Ms. Goodridge, go ahead.
Conservative
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Can we dismiss our witness? It is unlikely we will get back to her, and I'm sure she has lots of things to do rather than just sit here and listen to the rest of this conversation.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Is it the wish of the committee to advise the witness she can leave?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Ms. Tremblay, you are excused. Thank you for appearing this morning and taking the questions from the committee members.
Chairperson, Canada Industrial Relations Board
Thank you very much, committee members and Mr. Chair.
Liberal
Conservative
Kyle Seeback Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Chair, given that we have four minutes left in this meeting and we have a minister coming, that I don't agree with these amendments and that I don't want to take up more of the committee's time, I'm going to propose that we adjourn debate on this matter.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
That's a dilatory motion.
Does the committee agree to adjourn the debate that is currently before the committee?
(Motion agreed to)
The discussion is adjourned on the motion that was before the committee, and the committee agreed to dismiss its witness. We'll suspend for five minutes while we transition to the next hour.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Committee members, the committee is back in session for our second hour.
I would like to welcome the Secretary of State for Children and Youth, the Honourable Anna Gainey. As well, we have Paul Thompson, deputy minister of the Department of Employment and Social Development.
This part of the meeting is on the government mandates and key priorities.
Welcome, Secretary Gainey. You have up to five minutes for an opening statement.
Ms. Gainey, you have the floor.
Anna Gainey LiberalSecretary of State (Children and Youth)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone.
I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe nation.
With me today is Paul Thompson, deputy minister of Employment and Social Development Canada.
It's a pleasure to be with you today.
Thank you to each and every one of you for the work you do on this committee.
I've been in the role of Secretary of State for Children and Youth for six months, and I've heard from Canadians across the country—people working hard to get ahead and people who elected a new government to make life more affordable and to invest more in our shared future. People are rightfully expecting to see workers and businesses prosper as we build Canada's strength at home and build an economy for Canadians, by Canadians.
We are currently going through a period where the rules and systems we need for our success are being called into question.
We need to spend less, so we can invest more in growing our economy and in protecting essential funding that makes life more affordable. That means protecting and strengthening supports like the Canada child benefit, the national school food program and affordable child care.
As the Prime Minister stated, “This is Canada. No child should go to school hungry or sit in a classroom all day wondering where their next meal will come from”.
In 2024, the Government of Canada invested $1 billion over five years to establish a national school food program. Agreements were quickly signed with all 10 provinces and three territories, as well as indigenous partners, to improve and expand their school food programs.
It's on the success of this initiative that budget 2025 proposes ongoing funding beginning in—
Liberal
Liberal
Anna Gainey Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC
I'm sorry. I apologize to the interpreters. I will slow down.
It will introduce legislation that will make this permanent. It means that the program will continue to help make school meals accessible for up to 400,000 more children each year, while saving families with two children around $800 a year on groceries.
We are taking the pressure off families and are directly supporting the success of our kids, their health, their education and their well-being.
In addition, together with the provinces, territories and indigenous partners, our investments in early learning and child care are helping to build an affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care system. I will continue to support Minister Hajdu on this important issue.
It's a game-changer for families across the country. Eight provinces and territories are delivering regulated child care for an average of $10 a day or less. All other jurisdictions have reduced their fees by 50% or more. This means an annual average savings per child of $3,400 in Manitoba, $5,900 in Saskatchewan and $7,600 in Alberta.
In her latest report, the Auditor General also confirmed that costs for child care have gone down since the introduction of our Canada-wide system. In fact, as a proportion of after-tax family income, the average spending on child care by families across Canada is now less than one-third of what it was in 2021.
The families of about 900,000 children currently benefit from a Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
As highlighted by the C.D. Howe Institute, “A low-cost childcare policy is conducive to general economic growth, while contributing to reduce gender inequality by increasing women's financial autonomy.” Investing in accessible and affordable child care through this program not only boosts family income but also enables parents to participate in the workforce.
We are also investing in families through the Canada child benefit. This is bringing relief to 3.5 million families, with a typical family of two children receiving $11,000 this year.
Budget 2025 protects our commitment to this tax-free benefit, which directly helps parents reduce the cost of raising their children.
As it is indexed to inflation, the Canada child benefit increased this summer to keep up with the cost of living. The same family with two children is now receiving $500 more than last year, as a result.
As members of Parliament, we must not take such supports for granted. During these uncertain times, regressing is not an option.
This committee has focused on the youth unemployment rate recently. I am pleased to speak to you about the solutions we have brought to the challenges facing young Canadians in the labour market.
The Canada summer jobs program provides students and recent grads with the opportunity to gain work experience that sets them up for successful careers. Of those who received such placements, 88% were employed in the two years following. The Auditor General confirmed that those who had a Canada summer job earned an average of $6,000 more a year at work nine years following the experience.
Recognizing that more needed to be done this summer, Minister Hajdu and I increased the number of jobs in the Canada summer jobs program from 70,000 to 76,000.
Now, through investments in budget 2025, we are bringing the number of Canada summer jobs placements to 100,000. The budget is also investing in 55,000 work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students, as well as employment training and wraparound supports to 20,000 youth facing employment barriers. That means empowering students from over 420 post-secondary education institutions to be work-ready for in-demand jobs, with over 34,000 employers participating from in-demand sectors like IT and manufacturing.
Liberal
Anna Gainey Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC
I apologize. We had prepared for six.
I'm happy to take questions. Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
We will now begin the first round of questions.
Ms. Goodridge, you have six minutes.