Industry Committee on Nov. 19th, 2018

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you for that question. That really is a point of pride for us—the announcement that we made. I had the opportunity to visit Churchill a few years ago and saw first-hand the devastation that occurred because the rail line services were no longer taking place. The cost of food had gone up pretty substantially, and it was having an impact not only on morale but really on families. We worked very closely with indigenous leadership. We recognize that safety is important. We recognize that economic development is important, and we want to give people hope and an opportunity to succeed.

We worked very closely with the indigenous leadership and with the private sector, and we came forward with the solution that the Prime Minister just announced with my colleague Jim Carr. It was a $117-million investment up front with the Arctic Gateway Group LP, to really demonstrate our commitment to that community, to bring rail service back to that community, to really have that as a port, and to allow more opportunities going forward. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, not only for Churchill or Manitoba but for all of Canada as well.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the members and the team involved from Western Economic Diversification who helped work on that investment, which was so critical to our country.

[David de Burgh Graham]

Thank you.

On a totally different topic, last Thursday, Japanese minister of cybersecurity Yoshitaka Sakurada was testifying at a committee in Japan and admitted that he has never used a computer. I just want to clarify for the record that you have.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

That I have used a computer...?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[David de Burgh Graham]

Yes.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you for asking that question. I'm not sure where you're going with that line of questioning, but yes, I have used a computer. Thank you for posing that.

[David de Burgh Graham]

I just want to make sure. Thank you. It's a segue into digital economy stuff.

You've mentioned the importance of economy and infrastructure. We talked a bit about this with your officials a few minutes ago. Can you elaborate on what you've done to make sure Canadians have the opportunity to succeed in the digital economy, and also a bit on how your perspective on rural has changed in this job over the last few years?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Well, we are dealing with the digital divide. It's the new reality. It's so important to make sure that we have comprehensive opportunities for Canadians regardless of where they live. Therefore we've been very mindful of making sure that high-speed Internet connectivity is provided to rural and remote communities.

We have put forward initiatives like the connect to innovate program, which we're very proud of. It speaks to the strategic investments we've made in many communities across the country: 900 communities have benefited under that program, and we were able to leverage dollar for dollar, if not more, from the private sector and other communities as well. In terms of significant investments, 19,500 kilometres' worth of fibre has been put in place, which is absolutely essential to providing that backbone infrastructure.

With respect to the coding question, I would say that it's essential that kids learn how to code, not simply to code but to really have digital literacy and skills in this new digital economy. It is absolutely critical, no matter where you live or which segment of the economy you're interacting with.

We put forward a $50-million investment that will help teach one million kids from kindergarten to grade 12 to code. We're well on our way. Over 245,000 kids have learned how to code under this program so far. We're confident that by the end of 2019, we will reach our target of one million kids. It's empowering teachers as well, so that they have the tools to teach kids in the classroom about coding.

For me, as the father of two young girls—I have an 11-year-old and an eight-year-old—it's very important that they have these opportunities. From a personal perspective, this program has been a success, but more broadly speaking, I've heard positive stories from Canadians. It's really about promoting lifelong learning in a digital economy, to really make sure kids have the digital skills to succeed.

[David de Burgh Graham]

Thank you.

I have only about 45 seconds or so left, and I still have three more questions.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

I'll do rapid response.

[David de Burgh Graham]

Last month you met with your provincial and territorial counterparts on rural Internet. Can you tell us what you agreed to, why it's important and what the next steps are? I know you can't do that in 10 seconds, but—

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

A few weeks ago, I met with my provincial and territorial counterparts, and we agreed to a national broadband strategy. The idea is to align policies and programs to make sure that we provide not only Internet connectivity but high-speed Internet connectivity right across Canada.

[David de Burgh Graham]

This is my final question, I guess, for the time I have. The pagers are ending at the end of December, leaving a lot of rural areas with difficulty with wireless service for firefighters and so forth. Where are we on thinking about planning for a cellular future for rural areas? That's another line on the Internet.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

When we talked about the national broadband strategy, it was not simply about high-speed Internet connectivity. We also talked about the importance of cellular service and cell towers, and making sure that we played a role with the private sector, and the provinces as well, to move forward on this and deal with it from a public safety perspective.

It's working with Minister Goodale and his team from that perspective, and also making sure that we deal with communities to understand what the local needs are, so that any future programming we have, when we talk about high-speed Internet connectivity, also deals with cellular service.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you.

Mr. Albas, you have five minutes.

[Dan Albas]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here.

Minister, you've sat on this side before as an opposition MP, so you know how important these committees are. I appreciate your saying that the committee is doing good work on copyright.

However, your government has made some changes, through the USMCA as well as in the budget implementation act, which would change our study on copyright.

Minister, are you willing to come forward to this committee to talk about those subjects? If so, will you please ask your Liberal members to allow that if we make that motion?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you very much for your question on copyright.

As you know, under the current BIA that we presented in the House of Commons, we brought forward measures around the Copyright Board to streamline the process, to add resources to the board members, and to provide additional funding for case management so we can have quicker decisions. This is really important for artists and creators as well, and it provides an important step in that direction. It's a commitment that I was very clear about when I came to committee before.

With respect to the committee and who says what, you know that ultimately you decide that. I am not in a position to direct anyone, but I do thank you for thinking of me.

[Dan Albas]

Yes, said with a bit of a smile.... I just hope that Liberal members will allow us to do our work in that area.

Subsection 8(3) of the Statistics Act says:

The Chief Statistician shall notify the Minister of any new mandatory request for information at least 30 days before the day on which it is published.

Minister, on what date did you learn that Statistics Canada would be seeking to download the personal financial information of over 500,000 Canadian households?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

On this issue, we were not notified until much, much later in the process.

As you mentioned, the chief statistician ultimately is responsible for the methodology of how the data is collected and what the data will be used for. The chief statistician has that level of discretion and independence. However, we were not notified 30 days before.

[Dan Albas]

What date were you notified?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Very close to—

[Dan Albas]

Was it before October 26?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

I don't have the specific date, but I can get back to you on that.

[Dan Albas]

If you could have it back in writing, that would be helpful.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Yes.