Human Resources Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister.

I think it's a real shame to see that, for the Conservatives, there are programs that didn't exist. I can confirm that in my riding of Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, we have La Cantine pour tous and La Tablée des chefs, two organizations that will benefit from Canada's national school food program. Many children will benefit from meals in our schools.

Earlier, Ms. Larouche spoke to us about old age security. While you're here, maybe I'll give you a chance to speak to those issues. Quebec media recently reported delays and problems with services for seniors who receive old age security.

Can you specify what measures our government is putting in place to ensure that seniors in Longueuil—Saint-Hubert and across Quebec and Canada receive their benefits reliably and on time? That was my first question.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

That work is very urgent, and the department is working on the system to resolve the issue that some seniors are facing. The number of people affected is very low.

As you know, we transferred a very old system—68 years old—to a digitalized system that not only is faster and more accurate, but will also allow for independent application. I think it already allows for independent application online, which overall is going to reduce the workflow for humans and ensure that people can quickly, through a digital portal, access supports in an automated way.

More than 98% of applicants are getting their benefits without delay. That doesn't mean the other 85,000 or so who have complicated situations don't deserve the utmost urgency. That's exactly what the department is doing now. We have an action plan to reduce and eliminate the number of people experiencing delays, some of which are related to missing information. This is a manual process in some cases. Applications are coming in manually that have to be done in a digital environment on a new system.

I would say that the employees are getting much faster at utilizing this new system. Some of this was a training issue, and that training is ongoing. We're seeing increased capacity by department staff.

Finally, if there are any urgent cases across the country, we have been very clear: Please send them our way. We can prioritize cases of urgency. Some of the people represented in that number are not reliant on OAS. It is an additional benefit they're entitled to, and they will get their full benefit. Some people are reliant on OAS, and we want to know those individuals' names, if they approach you in your constituency, to accelerate their cases. We can do that. In fact, we've done that for some folks in Quebec.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Could you reassure Quebeckers and Canadians that the government is concerned about the situation?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Absolutely. Delivering benefits to which Canadians are entitled is really our primary job. That is why Cliff Groen is the lead on the business modernization branch.

Maybe I can have you speak, Cliff, about your focus and the department's efforts to clear this backlog.

[Cliff Groen, Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada, Service Canada]

It is absolutely essential that all Canadians receive their benefits on time. That is a fundamental obligation and commitment we have.

Generally, the vast majority of individuals do receive their benefits on time, but we know there are some delays related to certain old age security recipients. We are doing everything we can to address those situations as quickly as possible.

By all means, any urgent situations, we will gladly address, and we very much, on a priority basis, do address them.

[Natilien Joseph, Liberal, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Joseph.

We'll have Ms. Falk for five minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for taking the time to be here. We appreciate having you come to our committee.

As has been stated already in this meeting, food prices are absolutely out of control. We know that food bank usage has nearly doubled since 2019, and that's with 2.2 million Canadians, including children, visiting food banks monthly.

Almost one in five food bank users has a job, so that means they're working and still cannot afford to purchase groceries. A family of four is paying nearly $17,600 a year to eat. That's about $1,000 more than last year. The school food program and the GST top-up help some families. Your government has made things so bad that any relief whatsoever is welcome, but these measures don't actually lower the price of food. They don't fully offset skyrocketing grocery prices, and ultimately they leave millions of Canadians behind.

My question is, what is your message to working Canadians who don't qualify for these programs, don't get any support and still can't put food on the table because groceries keep getting more and more expensive?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

What I would say to all Canadians is that the work we're doing, especially for low-income Canadians, is bearing fruit. In fact, we doubled the working income tax benefit a number of years ago, something your party voted against.

There's a pattern here of talking about supporting people who—

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

Minister, with all due respect, my question was about the working Canadians who do not qualify for these benefits and who still cannot put food on the table. Their kids are going to school hungry, even though they're working two or three jobs. I've heard this from constituents. They're working two or three jobs and they can't get ahead, but they can't even meet where they need to be.

What is your message to Canadians who don't qualify for the programs your government is putting forward?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

A family with two or three kids is for sure are qualifying for the school nutrition program, because their children are in school.

If you're talking about a family without children, as I said, we have the working income tax benefit, which has been doubled for single individuals. If you're talking about seniors, we've increased OAS. If you're talking about that family—

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

Minister, with all due respect, I was talking about working Canadians.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Do you mean with children?

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

Regardless. Even if their kids are in school, what are they doing on Saturdays and Sundays? How are they eating? They're going to the food bank. How is that acceptable?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

It depends on—

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

How is it acceptable that we have working parents working all the time, and their kids are becoming latchkey children because their parents have to pick up extra jobs so they don't have anybody at home after school? I will note that most of the government-run day care institutions work nine to five Monday to Friday, not extra hours in the evening and not even accommodating shift-working parents.

What is being done? What does your government have to say to working people who don't qualify for the GST top-up or for the school food program? There's a swath of Canadians who aren't seeing any relief from your government. What do you have to say to those Canadians?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

What I'd say to the residents of Saskatchewan is that it's been a pleasure to work with the minister responsible for early learning and child care. In fact, Saskatchewan just extended a five-year agreement for early learning and child care and has committed, as they always have, I understand, to a fully public system of child care. It truly is a role model for many other provinces.

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

My question wasn't about child care.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Parents are now paying—

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

Minister—

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

—$10 a day in that province.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Order for a moment.

It is the member's time to ask the question, but please give the witness—in this case, it is the minister—a reasonable amount of time to give a reasonable answer. Then you can ask for the floor back.

Please continue.

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

I'll continue. I wasn't getting an answer for working Canadians. I will follow up with my next question.

How do you and your government justify the taxing of the growing, the shipping and the selling of food when these costs are inevitably passed on to consumers and make groceries more expensive? I know that you and your government say that these are imaginary taxes, which is not true. If you visit any farmer, they will tell you that they are passed on to the consumer. How does your government justify increasing these taxes and ultimately increasing the price of food?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

This argument that the Conservative Party is litigating has been debunked by economist after economist after economist—

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

How about the farmers who are paying the bills, like their implement bills?