Industry Committee on Nov. 24th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

I now call this meeting to order. Good morning, everyone.

Welcome to meeting number six of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of September 23, 2020. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. Be aware that the website will show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I'd like to outline a few rules, as usual. Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting, and you have the choice at the bottom of your screen of “Floor”, “English” or “French”.

For members participating in person, please proceed as you usually would when the full committee is meeting in person in the committee room, keeping in mind the directives from the Board of Internal Economy regarding masking and health protocols.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on video conference, please click on your microphone to unmute yourself. For those in the room, the microphone will be controlled as usual by the proceedings and verification officer. This is a reminder that all comments must be addressed through the chair. When you're not speaking, please mute your microphone.

With regard to the speaking list, the clerk and I will be doing our best to maintain the speaking order.

Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), the committee is meeting today to continue its study on the main estimates 2020-21.

As is my normal practice, I will hold up a yellow card when you have 30 seconds left in your intervention and a red card when your time is up. Please respect the time limits, as we want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to have their turn.

I'd like to welcome our witnesses for the first panel. We have the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages. I will introduce our other guests at the end of this first panel and the beginning of the next so that we do not delay any further.

With that, I will turn the floor over to Minister Bains. You have the floor for five minutes.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I want to start by thanking the committee members for inviting me here today to discuss some priorities in my portfolio's main estimates. For all the important work you do on behalf of Canadians, thank you very much.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the health and safety of Canadians has been our government's top priority.

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

I have a point of order, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Go ahead, Mr. Dreeshen.

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

Both the French and the English are coming through at the same volume.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Minister Bains, if you are speaking in French, please switch to French, and if you're speaking English, switch to English. I think you don't have the latest version of Zoom on your computer.

Please continue.

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

I understand. Thank you.

That means ensuring front-line workers receive the equipment they need to do their jobs, as professionals work tirelessly to find a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19.

We started the year with virtually no Canadian production of personal protective equipment and a precarious international marketplace, but after launching our “made in Canada” project and seeing industry step up to the plate, I am proud to say that we are now sourcing close to 50% of our personal protective equipment from Canadian companies.

More than 6,500 companies responded to our call to action to rapidly scale up domestic production of PPE. These firms are helping to keep front-line health care workers safe while also providing key manufacturing jobs through these difficult times.

On the vaccine front, we're seeing great progress on development projects right here in Canada. Through our investments in companies such as VBI Vaccines, Medicago and IMV, our government is growing Canada's capacity to find and produce a domestic vaccine for COVID-19.

Overall, this pandemic has made it clear that Canadian industries and its workers are strong, adaptive and resilient.

As we set out on the long road of economic recovery, we must also tap into the strength to build back a better, equitable and greener Canada. Our industries and entrepreneurs will have a crucial role to play and are already rising to the occasion. Our government is there to support them with strategic investments that spur innovation and help create good-quality Canadian jobs.

The innovation superclusters initiative, for example, has been an integral part of our “made in Canada” response, supporting projects ranging from large-scale disinfecting robots to personalized digital mental health care for front-line workers.

Moving forward, we're going to need to be strategic. With global industries moving towards sustainability, developing domestic manufacturing in electric vehicles and batteries will position Canada's auto industry as a global leader in a growing market and help us achieve our climate ambitions.

Similarly, the aerospace sector has always been especially adept at innovating and adapting. We must prioritize support for the supply chain, R and D in aviation and a procurement policy that benefits the entire country. That will position Canada's aerospace industry and workforce for continued success in a changing marketplace.

The increase in Canadians' online activity since March has also reinforced our government's commitment to addressing the concerns that Canadians have about their digital privacy.

This last week, I introduced Bill C-11 to enact the consumer privacy protection act. This legislation would give Canadians more control and greater transparency over the way companies handle their personal information.

I will be giving the Privacy Commissioner tangible authority to issue orders, and I will ensure Canadians have access to world-class privacy and data protection by imposing the highest fines set out in any G7 nation's privacy legislation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Minister, that's your five minutes. Are you almost done?

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

Absolutely.

In conclusion, I would just say that we're focusing on these important challenges. This is important for us as a government as we look to restart and rebuild the economy. It's about investing in Canadians, their ideas and their ingenuity. Together, I know we can build back better.

I look forward to answering any of your questions. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Minister Joly, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development]

Thank you.

Good morning.

Thank you to the committee members for inviting me today. It is always a pleasure to appear before the committee.

Since my last appearance at this committee in late April, Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan has helped protect millions of jobs, provided emergency support to families and kept businesses afloat as they deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As communities cope with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is safe to say these are extraordinary, challenging and stressful times. As elected officials, we share the responsibility of leading by example and reassuring our constituents by being there for them and showing them we are committed to helping.

Since the beginning of the health crisis, our government has been there. We have listened to Canadians and consistently adjusted the supports available to them to ensure the social safety net protects those who need it most.

Alongside programs like the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency business account, a critical part of our response has been the regional relief and recovery fund, or RRRF. Delivered through the six regional development agencies, the fund helps businesses and not-for-profit organizations that may not be eligible for other programs or that require additional assistance. It has proven to be a lifeline for businesses that might otherwise not have survived.

In rural communities, we have provided more funding to Community Futures Development Corporations, commonly known as CFDCs. They help rural businesses access capital and technical support.

Since we launched the RRRF in May, it has assisted more than 12,000 businesses, helping them cover costs and protect more than 100,000 jobs across the country. It has been vital in helping them keep their employees, pay their bills and prepare for a more sustainable future.

In the midst of a second wave and in the face of an alarming increase of COVID-19 cases in some parts of the country, many businesses across the country find themselves on shaky ground. That's why just last month our government announced that it would provide an additional $600 million to support workers and businesses through the RRRF. This will bring our RRRF support, through the regional development agencies, to more than $1.5 billion to further help businesses and organizations weather the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past several months, I've heard first-hand, through phone calls and video teleconferences, from many businesses and organizations that have benefited from what they have described as very much welcome support.

Through CFDCs and Business Development Centres, or BDCs, in Quebec, we have provided more than 3,400 businesses with liquidity and technical support, thereby protecting 15,000 jobs. Some 600 of those are in northern Quebec, including in the Abitibi—Témiscamingue region.

I have no doubt that information will be of particular interest to my fellow member Mr. Lemire.

Across Canada we've helped businesses and communities respond to the challenges of COVID-19, whether it has been helping businesses in Stratford, for example—I'm convinced John will want to have more information about that—to adapt to the loss of the festival; working with Edmonton Global to track investments and promote trade—I'm convinced James may be interested in that information as well—or funding an incubator in Toronto that will help entrepreneurs from under-represented groups. If Nate wants information about that, I'm here as well.

As we all know, tourism businesses have been deeply affected by the crisis. Thanks to the RRRF, as well as the broader measures implemented by our government, we have been able to help numerous tourism businesses. We know, however, that our work must continue, and it is continuing because they are confronted with unique circumstances.

We are working closely with tourism stakeholders, as of course they are dealing with the impact of the pandemic.

Businesses of all sizes have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the regional relief and recovery fund is here for them.

We're here to reaffirm to businesses that the government has their backs, obviously, and of course I am willing to answer my colleagues' questions regarding anything the regional development agencies have been doing in the context of this pandemic. Our officials, Nav's and mine, are here to answer any specific questions as well.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Thank you, Minister.

With that, we will start our rounds of questions.

Our first round of questions goes to MP Cumming.

You have the floor for six minutes.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and to both ministers, thank you for appearing here today.

Minister Bains, I'm sorry I missed your Bill C-11 announcement in the House, given the conflict with this committee, but we'll see you this afternoon.

I want to start with you. It's a simple question.

In your opinion, has the LEEFF program been successful?

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

As you know, we had a range of programs designed to support Canadians, designed to support Canadian businesses. We wanted to make sure that these programs were available, because we are dealing not only with a health crisis but also with economic fallout, and we needed to have a range of programs, including LEEFF, to assist businesses during these challenging times.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

More specifically, there are two Canadian companies that have received loans under this program. Would you define that as successful?

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

It's important to note that success is about protecting Canadian jobs. It's about helping Canadian workers. It's looking at the different regional impacts of the economic fallout and making sure that we are in a position, moving forward, as we restart the economy, to have a strong economic rebound. Therefore, we recognize that we need to have a range of programs, which includes LEEFF as well, to protect workers and to protect different businesses in the regions across the country.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Minister Bains, there are two loans, and $4.5 million has been spent in consulting fees. Do you think that is a good return on investment, given that there have been just two loans?

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

It's important to recognize, when we design these programs, that we have the appropriate due diligence in place, that we recognize there is rigour in dealing with taxpayers' money. It's important that we move in a manner that speaks to the program design, which was about being the lender of last resort and being there to help with any bridge financing that was needed to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian workers. This is about making sure that during these difficult times, particularly in a pandemic, we have these tools in place to support our workers across the country.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

I want to move on to a couple of other things.

On the Connect to Innovate goal, in the $500-million announcement you promised to connect 300 rural communities in Canada. How many are connected to date?

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

I'm so glad you talk about the Connect to Innovate program. It was a program designed with the public-private partnership model. We as a government invested $500 million. The private sector matched that dollar for dollar.

We set out an original goal of connecting over 300 communities. I can tell you right now that we're going to exceed that number substantially, and particularly, we're going to be able to assist our indigenous communities as well. Projects are well under way, and we're working with different providers and communities across the country, particularly in rural and remote areas.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

We had Minister Monsef here speaking to this program. She directed me to a website and said that if I wanted some accountability, I should look at that website. Currently that website would say that only 47 communities are connected. There are various stages of where they're at. When can we expect the balance of the 253 communities to be operational?

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

We are focused on connectivity. Access is the first principle in the digital charter. Today, as you indicated, in the House I also talked about the digital charter implementation act, which talks about the other aspects and principles in that. It's important that we move forward with these projects. That is why we had to have that public-private partnership to enable us to connect with those communities.

As I've indicated, projects are well under way. We've also supplemented that program with the universal broadband fund, as well as investments in low-earth orbit satellites to provide additional support for communities so they can get access to high-speed Internet connectivity.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Minister Bains, if you look at this—and given that I was directed to the site—only 47 communities are connected. That's 253 to go, with your target of 2021. Is it realistic that we're actually going to see that target achieved?

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

It is important to note that in the program design, we've overcome all the major hurdles of making sure we have a process in place whereby companies are able to apply to that program and then get approval. Now we're focused on implementation. We're conscious that we're moving in the right direction. We're focusing on and targeting those key communities that need access to high-speed Internet connectivity.

[James Cumming, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

For the universal broadband, on the first range of planning—the first $1 million—what percentage of that funding has actually been allocated to date?