Public Safety Committee on Dec. 3rd, 2024

Evidence of meeting #133 for Public Safety and National Security in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cbsa.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Supplementary Estimates (B), 2024-25: Votes 1b and 5b under Canada Border Services Agency, Vote 1b under Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Votes 1b and 5b under Correctional Service of Canada, Votes 1b and 5b under Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Vote 1b under Parole Board of Canada, Votes 1b, 5b, 10b and 15b under Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Committee Business

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Tricia Geddes Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Michael Duheme Commissioner, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Erin O'Gorman President, Canada Border Services Agency

Daniel Rogers Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Jérome Laliberté Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Director of Administration, Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Anne Kelly Commissioner, Correctional Service of Canada

12:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB

I, as an opposition MP and as a government backbencher, would visit the Dorchester Penitentiary and Shepody Healing Centre every year to see the remarkable work being done by these remarkable women and men.

I've said it to the commissioner and I've said it to her colleagues every time I've had a chance to visit an institution. I totally share your concern. I have heard directly.... Every time I visit one of these institutions, Mr. MacGregor, I too take time to meet with the elected union representatives at every one of these institutions, and, in a separate meeting, meet with the management and the staff. Of course, I visit the institution, but I sit with the union representatives elected by those brave women and men who work there to hear their concerns.

Two weeks ago, I met the national representatives. The CSN and the UCCO were in collective agreement negotiating sessions.

I'm looking at the commissioner. I want to make sure.... I have good news. The President of the Treasury Board sent me a text on the weekend saying that they've arrived at an agreement in principle with the UCCO.

I don't know how much of this is public, but it is good news, because they had talked to me about their concerns on exactly the issue of where they are in relation to the RCMP salaries. I don't know the details of the agreement, but I was told that at the bargaining table, they have arrived at an agreement in principle.

The commissioner told me yesterday that there's still some more work to do. I may not have the right bureaucratic phrase. Is it “general agreement”?

It's a global agreement. I told her that was also a private jet that Bombardier made in Montreal, but I don't think that's it.

There's a global agreement, Mr. Chair, that the commissioner will hopefully finalize, so there is good news there, Mr. MacGregor.

I'll finish with this because I see the chair and I'm about to evacuate my chair here to go see the leaders of the opposition.

One thing that I think is important is that the women and men who work for the Correctional Service of Canada are in many ways the invisible partners. We talked a lot about the CBSA. We talked a lot about the RCMP. CSIS has to be invisible; that's their business. If they're too visible, it goes badly.

The people who work for the Correctional Service do remarkable work in some of the most difficult circumstances. I just wish Canadians like you and me could see this good work and appreciate the work they do to keep the country safe. I just wanted to say it publicly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Iqwinder Gaheer

Thank you.

We have two minutes left. I can give a minute to Mr. Shipley and a minute....

December 3rd, 2024 / 12:55 p.m.

Conservative

Doug Shipley Conservative Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON

One minute is very short.

Thank you for being here today.

Minister, after nine years, we've heard a lot in this committee lately about crime and chaos being up across Canada. We know there are issues going on. I'm hearing it from Canadians. We've heard about some horrific issues in this committee. Part of that is because of our lax enforcement and border controls.

Why did it take being called by the president-elect of the United States, who threatened to take you out to the woodshed, to get you to finally start talking about doing something about border control?

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB

Mr. Chair, it won't surprise you that I don't agree entirely with the premise of our colleague's question.

I thought I talked about the support that our government has given to the RCMP, the CBSA and border enforcement. A lot of it is in partnership with American colleagues. I think it takes nothing away from the obligation of the government to consider, at all times, what additional measures we can take to support this work that's done. In some cases, it's human resources. In some cases, it's technology.

I think we also have to be honest. When the incoming president of the United States threatens to put a 25% tariff on goods exported to the United States.... We saw a 10% tariff some years ago on the steel and aluminum sector of the Canadian economy and the pain point that it caused. This is a different order of magnitude.

A responsible government would, I hope, take every opportunity to show the incoming administration, as you noted in the question, how seriously it takes this issue and how it's prepared to step up in partnership with them. Four days after the president-elect's comments, we took it as a positive sign that we had dinner with him at his residence in Florida on the Friday of a holiday weekend, the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend.