Industry Committee on April 19th, 2016

[Daphne Meredith]

I support absolutely what Pierre-Marc said.

Obviously, clean technology is a common focus for us all, and we all have a common goal for 2016-17, which is to invest $100 million in clean technology across the country. That's a goal we share, and we will work out exactly who does what to meet that goal.

Also, we've been discussing how we meet some of the other government priorities, including indigenous economic growth. We've had different approaches to that in our agencies. The special value-added that is brought by being in a portfolio is it makes for an easier conversation around who's doing what, and what we can learn from each other. That's one of the topics.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I'm sorry, but my question was: what clear and specific instructions has the minister sent to the agencies? Has there been a change? Have you received any clear instructions from the minister since he arrived in office and established the new structure? I'm quite familiar with the structure: there's one minister who is responsible for five agencies. Are there clear, written instructions?

[Daphne Meredith]

The instructions are for us to align with the government's priorities. That's something we can do through our programming without detailed instruction. We are expected to align with the government's priorities. There are some mechanisms for us to do that, which is what we're doing.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Okay.

[Denise Frenette]

I would add that the minister's mandate letter clearly established the priorities that the minister must meet. We were told that the economic development agencies had a major role to play in meeting these priorities.

As mentioned, Budget 2016 sets out very clear commitments to green technology. My colleagues didn't mention it, but it would be worthwhile to point out the efforts made with Aboriginals. We are going to work closely with those communities. Lastly, there's the additional funding for Canada 150.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you very much.

Since the new minister took office, has the signatory process changed? Have the instructions changed in terms of the signing authority for projects? According to the information I have, the signatory used to be the minister in the past for a wide range of projects. Has there been any change in the range of authorizations that you are able to provide as senior officials in the process for obtaining grants?

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

The process in place is pretty much the same.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

So there has been no change. Okay.

How much time do I still have, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

You have one minute and a half.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I have another question.

The Canada 150 community infrastructure program—150CIP—is more for Quebec, but the other two agencies are probably experiencing the same reality.

In our ridings, we have a number of organizations and institutions that applied under 150CIP before June 2015. What stage is the process at? Have all the organizations been contacted with an answer, whether positive or negative? Could you summarize the 150CIP situation?

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

I think that is mainly directed to me, so I will start.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

But the others are experiencing the same realities.

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

Yes.

In terms of 150CIP, we launched a call for proposals last summer. We had the election, but now we have started reviewing the many applications again. We have gone over almost half of the applications. In the coming weeks and months, we are going to speed things up to approve the applications. I am personally setting that as a priority. I recognize that the process is a little slow, but now it is up and running and we will have good news soon.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

What can we tell our organizations?

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Mr. Godin, your time is up.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

I'm sorry.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Moore, you have seven minutes.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you very much.

My first question is specifically for the officials from the CED for the regions of Quebec.

Could you tell me what is happening with the agreements with the CDECs? There are also some CFDCs that work in the same offices as the CLDs. There have been significant cuts at the provincial level, which slightly disrupted the way we work. What is happening in cases where there were federal-provincial partnerships and where two development organizations were connected? Do you have any news on that?

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

If the question is about the organizations on the ground, it will be a bit more difficult for me to answer it, because all those organizations followed their own counsel. It is up to them to make their decisions depending on the direction they want to take.

I can tell you that right now we are working very hard with the CFDCs to ensure that they continue to receive support. In terms of the CDECs you mentioned, some will also continue to be supported by the CED.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Are the agreements with the CDECs scheduled to be renewed soon?

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

Not all the agreements with the CDECs will be renewed. In Montreal, there were three partners: the City of Montreal, the Government of Quebec and the CED. The Government of Quebec was mainly handling employability, and the City of Montreal, entrepreneurship. As for us, we act as a type of link in the community, but in line with the other two levels. The City of Montreal was primarily at the forefront.

Last November, the city completely changed its methods and its actions. It created the organization called PME MTL, which is made up of six large organizations from all over Montreal. It then stopped funding the CDECs. The Government of Quebec partnered with PME MTL. Based on the proposals that we will be receiving from the city or the government, we will continue to support all companies in Montreal.

Quebec City, Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke also had agreements. In those three cases, the other two levels, the municipal and provincial, have continued with the same kinds of activities. Since the same issues were at stake and the same partners had decided to stay, we decided to stay with those three cities for another three years.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Is the agency looking at the possibility of joining PME MTL?

[Pierre-Marc Mongeau]

We still respond to requests we receive from the private sector or from non-profit organizations. We are on standby. The restructuring will probably be completed very soon. We are waiting to see what kind of help the city will need.

Despite everything, we continue to support other organizations in the City of Montreal, such as Innovation Quebec. We provide a lot of support.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you. You have provided some good answers.

My next questions are for the representatives from the three agencies.

What do you do in your organizations to keep ongoing consultations with communities? How do you ensure that you are always meeting the needs of the communities? How do you help local players interact to ensure that you are meeting the local needs?

How could the various agencies ensure better transparency? When the first wave of the community infrastructure program in Quebec took place, the minister’s riding coincidentally received the most funding. That surely makes people wonder.

How can we ensure that there is adequate transparency in the selection of projects, while maintaining the confidentiality promoters are entitled to expect? What can we do to improve transparency?

[Daphne Meredith]

If we were to take the Canada 150 program as an example, the purpose of which is to enhance community infrastructure across all communities, whether they're rural or urban, we have to use our networks, which are quite extensive, to reach out to communities, including those that are in the far reaches of the region.

We have the Community Futures organizations and other network organizations. More than 110 of those organizations exist right across the region, from Manitoba to B.C., north and south. We can use those networks to get the word out about the opportunity. We also use email blasts to our networks. Some of the numbers would be that over 10,000 emails go out to our network organizations, which can then communicate further so that people know the opportunities.