Evidence of meeting #17 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 39th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cuts.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
No. I'm talking about Treasury Board.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
I'm talking about a ministerial decision.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
I see. That confirms the answer, that Treasury Board decided not to allow a reallocation.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
It's in that sense that the announcement linked to the cut, if you will, is a government decision. It's also for that reason that it's on the list in front of you.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
I see.
As for the $24.89 million in cuts to Canada's clothing and textile Industries, which as I understand it, are primarily linked to the CANtex program, what do you say to the textile industry that is telling you that it would have liked to see in place a program that would open up markets for Canadian textiles used in garments manufactured abroad, for example, or for garments that would be shipped to Canada duty free? CANtex funds would have come in handy then, but it is difficult to invest in productivity if there are no markets.
Do these cuts mean that the government no longer intends to take any action to expand markets? Is that the message that is being conveyed here, in other words, the message that the textile industry is being more or less abandoned?
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
I think that is beyond the scope of my mandate as a public servant.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
I will reformulate my question. Are the cuts a result of a government policy decision to do away with the program to revitalize the textile industry? Is there a message behind this decision?
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
As officials, we do not operate based on messages or signals of one kind or another; we have programs to administer, with budgets supplied first of all by the government and subsequently by Parliament.
I think that could be a question to put to the Minister tomorrow, in the House.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Now that the cuts have been made, what does that mean to you in terms of assistance to the textile industry? I don't really mean in terms of policy, but in terms of operations.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
I've been told that those who stood to benefit did not avail themselves of this program. In previous years, the budgets for this program were never spent. So, from year to year, there was some reprofiling of funds. The amounts cuts from this program were unspent from one year to the other.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
It's not a political decision then. Over the past three years, I was systematically told by officials that CANtex has no more funds available because they had all been allocated.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
I am telling you, we were set to knock... Economic Development Canada was the operational arm, and I think that the official in charge was in Drummondville. They told us there was no more money for CANtex. Industries had undertaken modernization projects, to buy equipment, but CANtex had no more money.
But I do not want to get into a debate on that. I just want to give you that information.
Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
I understand. My colleague could perhaps offer you some additional information.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
As regards the funding shortfall, I think it was for the PICTV program, which is linked to the garment industry, whereas CANtex is a program targeting the textile industry. So we are talking about reductions for CANtex. The Deputy Minister has just explained CANtex's role as regards remaining funding that went unused.
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
That confirms the industry's hypothesis that if they had markets, they could use CANtex, but because they have none, they cannot use it.
Could I simply conclude by asking one last quick question?
Bloc
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
There is an amount of $39 million in the section on social economy programs. Does this amount represent the elimination of the program which had been set up to develop the Fonds d'aide aux entreprises d'économie sociale in Quebec? I simply want to know what's included in this amount.
Conservative
