Evidence of meeting #42 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was retailers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General, Devolution and Territorial Relations Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Could I add something? There's a 1-800 number being set up.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Yes, I'm very much interested in that. Is the toll-free 1-800 number currently in service?
Director General, Devolution and Territorial Relations Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Yes.
Director General, Devolution and Territorial Relations Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
It's being set up now. I don't have a date, but in my briefing we're saying that it will be in the next couple of weeks. It should be up before Christmas.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
So the people in the north can reach you at the 1-800 number.
There's still a piece missing from the puzzle and I really want to understand. From now on, the person we see if the bananas come in black instead of yellow or green is the retailer. That's starting now.
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Starting on April 1.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Pardon me, starting on April 1. But that's gradually being put in place.
So, starting on April 1, if my bananas are black, I can get annoyed at the retailer.
What's being done about the points of entry? Am I to understand as well that, starting on April 1, there will be no more fixed points of entry, that it will be a free market. If I want to leave Winnipeg to go make a delivery in Kuujjuaq, I can do it? Is that correct?
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
That's correct.
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
The subsidy will be allocated to retailers on the basis of the receipts they submit to us. Whether it be a retailer in the north or south that fills personal orders—
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Wait a minute. I want to understand. That's an important piece of the puzzle.
So there are retailers for individual orders. They will send a package by Air North or another carrier. The person will receive his or her package of bananas, and then the retailer will receive the subsidy upon submitting proof. So there will be no intermediary between Canada Post—
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
That's correct. There will be no more intermediary.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
There's no more intermediary at the points of entry. The point of entry will therefore be left to the retailer's discretion.
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
The retailer will make whatever arrangements it wants to make with the carrier. If retaining a centralized point of entry seems an obvious choice for them—because they can achieve economies of scale or whatever—it will be up to them to negotiate that. It's up to the market to decide.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
I have a few more questions, Mr. Chairman, but I'm finishing.
What control will you have over that? When I say "you", that doesn't necessarily mean Mr. Borbey or Mr. Tibbetts, because you'll be retiring some time, unfortunately—I know you've monitored this file and you're very much interested in it.
What control will the department have over it?
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
There's no control at the present time. There will be contribution agreements directly with each of the retailers, whether they're in the north or the south. Then we'll be able to apply all the controls inherent in a contribution program to ensure that the objective, which is to pass this subsidy on to the consumer, is achieved by the retailer.
They'll submit to us proof that will be subject to audit. These are all conditions that are not currently in place under the program.
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
The problem is that they will submit proof, receipts and so on to you, but that will be in a few months. This goes into effect on April 1. So how can I be sure that the right products will get there on May 1, for example?
Will you have monthly, weekly control? How will that work?
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
I can ask Mr. Tibbetts to explain that.
However, for April 1, we'll definitely have an advanced financing instrument. That's what's allowed under the contribution programs to make it possible for these orders to be placed. We obviously won't wait until the end of the first quarter to reimburse retailers.
So there will be an adjustment period. Once the program is underway, it will operate on its own.
Jamie, do you want to give a bit of detail?
Director General, Devolution and Territorial Relations Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Sure. We'll be setting up a claims processor early in the new year, the new fiscal year, and the companies will provide waybills and invoices on a monthly basis, or data from those waybills and invoices. They'll be verified. They'll sign and attest that they passed on the subsidy to consumers and the contribution agreements will give us the right to audit them as well.
Conservative
Bloc
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
All right.
If the village of Salluit, Kuujjuaq or Yellowknife isn't satisfied, I can tell them that, starting April 1, it will be directly up to the retailer or to the toll-free 1-800 number to ensure control.
Director General, Devolution and Territorial Relations Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
And we'll use a risk framework to analyze who should be audited more than others and make sure that we're looking at those claims.
