Evidence of meeting #73 for Official Languages in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was businesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Deputy Minister, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
The level of employment related to a project will be interesting, to see if there is potential for increased employment, but it's not necessarily the sole factor—
Deputy Minister, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Sometimes in productivity, for example, we are going to invest in businesses that will not create more jobs but in the end will be stronger in the market. Maybe they will have a chance to grow, export or survive. There is competition coming from other countries as well, so productivity is a big angle that we are going to go to. It doesn't necessarily create new jobs in all instances, but sometimes it's going to solidify and increase the market where these enterprises will be more productive over time.
NDP
Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
You were talking about long-term jobs, obviously, and again, that viability. A lot of times I would be concerned, too, about how those entrepreneurs use those funds and how that translates to those they employ as well. In terms of the viability of communities, that's very much based on good-paying, unionized jobs. Do you look at that as well? How do you value that?
Deputy Minister, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
In fact, part of the business assessment is also the management of these enterprises and businesses. Our advisers will also work, for example, on subjects like greening, cybersecurity, management and workforce diversity and inclusion, and they will make sure the businesses are aware of these important dimensions for their success in the future.
You were looking at results. Most of the funding we provide to small and medium-sized enterprises is in repayable contributions, so our ability to recoup that money in the future is also one indicator that the project has been a success, because the business has been able to make enough money to pay back to government the contribution we made earlier in the process.
NDP
Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
It's interesting that you speak about that. Obviously, a lot of the businesses existing throughout COVID were hit very hard. Many of them received CEBA loans and now they're are being forced to pay them back. Many can't.
Are you using your data and seeing that the need is greater on your end to try to make up for what these businesses are suffering through because of the end of the loan forgiveness from CEBA?
Deputy Minister, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Yes, this is what we call “special initiatives”. It's a different group of entrepreneurs that we worked with during that period. I have a different program for people who work with those who have benefited from this kind of support. We are tracking that really carefully. Recently, there were some announcements to postpone or delay some payment periods.
We are working really closely with our partners to make sure we support them, and of course we want them to succeed, but it's a different program. Unfortunately, I was not really prepared to talk to you about that today.
NDP
Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
All my questions were answered by Mr. Perron, but they did apply to you as well, Mr. Nowlan.
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Yes, in terms of what Mr. Perron described, we operate in very similar ways in our due diligence process and how we work with businesses and look at what the project is giving from a holistic perspective. Is it helping to grow the company? Is it helping to grow employment where that's appropriate or improving productivity where that is the objective?
I would add one thing. You talked about the overall community and the impact on the community. Both of our agencies have a separate suite of programs that are geared directly toward community development and helping the communities, the municipalities themselves, in terms of supporting economic infrastructure as well as businesses.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal René Arseneault
Thank you, Mr. Nowlan.
Thank you, Ms. Mathyssen.
The next questions will be from Mr. Dalton for five minutes. The floor is yours.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Thank you very much for coming here today.
The documentation we have is that for the next five years the allocation is $10.2 million for CED in Quebec and then $6.2 million for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. I have a couple of questions. One, is that primarily just going to administration or is that being disbursed? What is that money for? I know this has been asked in different ways, but we want to know what that is and if it is primarily operating funds, just this budgeted amount right here, because it's actually been the same amount.... It's been consistent over the past quite a few years, so obviously it's not just going forward. Can you tell us how it has been used in the past, specifically that money?
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
The $6.2 million, in our case, is almost entirely going out to communities and to businesses to help support the priorities of the economic development initiative: to help businesses grow, to help support tourism and to help communities. I think, in our case, less than $500,000 goes to administration. The vast majority of it goes right out the door to businesses and communities.
It would help projects like some of those I mentioned in my remarks: things like helping attract and retain young French-speaking immigrants in Newfoundland and Labrador with Horizon Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. It's helping to support—
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
If I could, just because I have limited time.... You said $500,000, but that would be per year. That's not over the entire five years. Is that correct?
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
That's over the entire five years.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Okay, so it's $100,000 per year. Is this basically your sole pot of administrative money? You mentioned $500,000. Is that all you have? That sounds like one or maybe two positions. Are there other sources of government financing that you also receive to support your program in operating?
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
In terms of delivering on the $6.2 million, $5.5 million, give or take, goes out the door to businesses. When we get that money from the centre, from Treasury Board and Finance, it specifically says that this is the amount of money that's allocated to allow for the operations and delivery of that program. It's proportionally divided that way. That's what we use to deliver that portion of the program.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Okay, but this is not the only program that you do. You have other programs too. Or are you strictly focused on this?
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Do you mean in general that ACOA does?
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
No, of course not. As I've mentioned, we have in the neighbourhood of $220 million in grants and contributions that goes out, and somewhere in the neighbourhood of.... I have to get the exact figure in terms of how much is operating costs, but no, it's not the only amount.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Would that include the Black entrepreneurship initiative and the women entrepreneurship initiative too? Are those different?
Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Yes, we have our regular programming that I mentioned—our REGI programming, our business development programming and our innovative communities fund—which is our core programming.
Then we have special initiatives like the ones you mentioned, the Black entrepreneurship program and women business programming, and we have tourism programming. Those are special initiatives that are targeted over and above what our core programming is.
Conservative
Marc Dalton Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Okay. I'm going to assume that's the same answer.
Do you have anything to add, Mr. Perron?
Deputy Minister, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
I would maybe add just one thing. The regional development agencies are a nice vehicle to implement smaller initiatives, because we rely on a common infrastructure to deliver these. If we were an organization created to deliver this $10.2 million over five years, our problems with costs would be terrible because you would need to stand up a structure, but since we are already in that business of supporting and funding community organizations, this is in addition, and that makes us, I would say, pretty lean.