Public Accounts Committee on Oct. 5th, 2023

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

This is from the OECD. I think it's a good source.

[Vicky Eatrides]

I know that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has done a lot of research on this.

When we talk to Canadians, we understand that they're really not happy with the cost of telecommunications services.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Have any measures been taken in this regard?

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

I'm sorry, but your time is up, Ms. Sinclair-Desgagné.

Mr. Desjarlais, you have the floor for two and a half minutes, please.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to return to my topic with the chairperson of the CRTC.

How many applicants did not receive a response about their project approval? The number would be fantastic.

[Vicky Eatrides]

We will come back to you with that number. I hope that number is zero.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Can you please submit it in writing to our committee?

[Vicky Eatrides]

Yes, absolutely, we will. Thank you.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

I'd also like to request, in the same document or in the same follow-up, that you please provide any specific reference to how many rural, remote and Indigenous communities are still pending a response. If you can break that down by province and territory, that would be much appreciated and would be helpful for our understanding.

Finally, will you commit to urgently reaching out to every applicant who did not receive a response from you and your group? I'm sure this is something you may agree with even as a remedy.

[Vicky Eatrides]

Thank you very much for the question. We will get back to you with the numbers.

I would say, for the applicants who did not hear back from previous calls, we will absolutely follow up on those.

With respect to the most recent call, as I was mentioning earlier, that call just closed in June. We will be getting decisions out very shortly. Those will start to roll in the coming weeks and months, so I guess we'll be closing the loop on those shortly.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

In terms of your own understanding.... You're the chairperson of the CRTC, which is a valued institution and an important institution. Accuracy and responsiveness are important to the conduct of the CRTC. When can members of this committee expect all the applications that currently have no responses and that were identified by the Auditor General will get a response? Will it be in a week or in two weeks? When?

[Vicky Eatrides]

I will take that away, but we will endeavour to do that very quickly. As I said earlier, we are expediting our processes, so we have been fixing processes internally. We've cut down our time to review by 40%.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

I'm just nervous that an audit could come back in a few years' time and this issue will have persisted. If it persists, then we are left with a defunct and broken system.

Will you commit to responding to every one of them?

[Vicky Eatrides]

I will commit that we will be getting back to every one of them—absolutely, yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you very much. That is the time.

Mr. Mazier, you have the floor again for five minutes.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Thank you, Chair.

Mr. Kennedy, I want to circle back to follow up on what Mr. Stewart was talking about with regard to the lack of connectivity and the expectations from this government.

If I heard you right, you actually believe that our connectivity is not that bad in rural Canada.

[Simon Kennedy]

At the risk of repeating myself for the third or fourth time, we agree that the connectivity in rural Canada and in Indigenous communities is an issue and that we need to be focused on it—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

It's an issue—

[Simon Kennedy]

We are very focused on it—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

—but it's not that bad. It's such a nonchalant kind of reply.

[Simon Kennedy]

No, Mr. Chair, I think it's that the honourable member doesn't want to listen to the facts. I have been very clear multiple times—

[Jake Stewart, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

I have a point of order.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

I have a point of order, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Hold on. These need to be points of order.

I will first go to you, Mr. Stewart. I'm pointing to you first.

[Jake Stewart, Conservative, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My honourable colleague here has the floor at this committee—