Evidence of meeting #56 for Official Languages in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cases.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Point of order.
Quite frankly, I'm insulted by what Mr. Harvey is saying, and I'd like for him to retract his comments. We are not Hezbollah supporters. He should withdraw his remarks immediately.
10:35 a.m.
Conservative
Luc Harvey Conservative Louis-Hébert, QC
I'm not talking about anyone specific, I'm just saying that a member should avoid—
10:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
We are not here to represent either the Hells Angels or Hezbollah. We were elected by our fellow citizens, and he should respect that. We are not here for the benefit of television or radio; we have responsibilities. He should withdraw his remarks immediately. It is an insult to the committee.
10:35 a.m.
Conservative
10:35 a.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
We will talk about this later, so that no time is taken away from our witnesses.
10:35 a.m.
Conservative
Luc Harvey Conservative Louis-Hébert, QC
That being said, Mr. Matte, the total budget for the Court Challenges Program is slightly more than $2 million, of which $525,000 is spent on court challenges dealing with the language rights.
What are the administrative costs of the Court Challenges Program?
10:35 a.m.
Executive Director, Court Challenges Program of Canada
Currently, administrative costs amount to $750,000 per year. Details of this are outlined regularly in our annual report.
10:40 a.m.
President, Court Challenges Program of Canada
The administrative costs are negotiated with Canadian Heritage during discussions over what proportion of the budget is assigned to respective areas.
10:40 a.m.
Vice-President of the Board of Directors, Court Challenges Program of Canada
One must also consider administrative costs for both components of the program. Equality rights is a distinct component.
10:40 a.m.
Executive Director, Court Challenges Program of Canada
Court challenges concerning equality rights receive $1.575 million, out of a total of $2.1 million for all court challenges.
10:40 a.m.
Conservative
Luc Harvey Conservative Louis-Hébert, QC
Therefore, it costs $750,000 to manage a budget of $2.1 million?
10:40 a.m.
President, Court Challenges Program of Canada
Yes, sir, but you must understand that we follow the rules set out in the Contribution Agreement. Under this agreement, there are many, many rules and provisions to ensure that public monies are spent transparently and in compliance with the requirements. I must say these choices are not made by the Court Challenges Program, but are imposed by the Contribution Agreement with the federal government . In fact, everything from photocopies to other services is determined ahead of time.
To address your initial comments, I can assure that as an ordinary citizen, if either Hezbollah or the Hells Angels asked me to meet with them to talk about the Court Challenges Program, I would also decline.
10:40 a.m.
former President of SOS Montfort, As an Individual
A number of ministers supported us, such as Ms. Copps. Mr. Sauvageau and Senator Gauthier supported us too. Many people helped us, including one belonging to the party in power.
10:40 a.m.
Conservative
Luc Harvey Conservative Louis-Hébert, QC
We have mentioned administrative costs amounting to $750,000. With regard to other activities, does the overall $2.1 million budget include costs relating to the delivery of the program? Is there some kind of allocation?
10:40 a.m.
Executive Director, Court Challenges Program of Canada
The ways in which funding is distributed among the various types of cases eligible for funding are set out in the Contribution Agreement. There are different funding categories available. All are set out in detail, and the exact figures are complied with. You will see that if you look at our annual report.
10:40 a.m.
Conservative
Luc Harvey Conservative Louis-Hébert, QC
Of the $2.1 million, how much goes directly to court costs?
10:40 a.m.
Executive Director, Court Challenges Program of Canada
If you look at the contribution agreement, under section... Please give me a moment.
10:40 a.m.
Jean-Rodrigue Paré Committee Researcher
This document shows that $1.6 million goes to court cases.
10:40 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Steven Blaney
We have the information here. If you look at the Contribution Agreement, which was distributed to members, page 2—
10:40 a.m.
Executive Director, Court Challenges Program of Canada
It's under section 3.2(d).
10:40 a.m.
President, Court Challenges Program of Canada
It reads as follows:
The budgeted amount approved by the minister... in each fiscal year shall not exceed $1,880,000... for litigation, an amount not to exceed, in each fiscal year, $1,600,000 plus the carry-over amount.
10:40 a.m.
Conservative
Luc Harvey Conservative Louis-Hébert, QC
So that's $1.6 million for litigation, and $550,000 for official languages. Two-thirds of the amount is still missing. What vote were those funds allocated to?
10:40 a.m.
Executive Director, Court Challenges Program of Canada
I could read you section 3, which is entitled "Maximum amount per area of funding", in its entirety. The total amount is provided under section 3.5, and stands at $2.85 million a year. The amounts that can be spent under the program are set out in detail, to the nearest $100. The financial statements set out in each of our annual reports are audited by an independent firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, which ensures that all spending complies with the rules and is properly reported and published.