Public Safety Committee on March 24th, 2026

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Parkland, AB]

I think it's a bit ridiculous to say that there are privacy considerations when this information is being sold to car dealerships and anyone can access this information after they have purchased a car. There is no confidentiality and privacy once this information is being sold to dealerships.

Why isn't it being given to registry agents? At a registry, when vehicles are checked, that information is tracked. We could give this information to registries across Canada, and we could identify stolen vehicles today at a much lower cost than what this government is giving. Why aren't we doing it?

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

You have 10 seconds.

[Erin O'Gorman]

I'm happy to look into that, but right now, the organizations are working with law enforcement to address stolen vehicles through this arrangement, and it's working.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you for that exchange.

Mr. Ramsay, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, La Prairie—Atateken, QC]

I have a follow-up question for Mr. Rogers that stems from my question to the minister earlier.

Given that Commissioner Boegman will be starting soon, in the budget that has been allocated, is there any funding for the collection and retention of foreign interference intelligence that will be used for the new registry?

[Daniel Rogers]

Thank you for that question.

Supplementary estimates (C) include only $9.1 million, and that's intended for very specific things at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

It's for network equipment and some upgrades and for support, as the commissioner and others have said, to review.

Overall, our funding has increased over the last year, and we have increased our ability to do foreign interference-related intelligence collection and response. That's something we're seeking to increase and not decrease, given the state of concern we have over the developments in Canada and across the world. It remains a priority for us, even if it is not specifically funded under this set of supplementary estimates.

[Jacques Ramsay, Liberal, La Prairie—Atateken, QC]

Mr. Dakalbab, could you tell us more about the operational pressures at institutions related to health, safety, the inmate population and the outdated facilities that would explain higher costs in the budget for the coming years?

[Talal Dakalbab]

Thank you very much for the question.

To begin, I'd like to say how proud I am to hold this position and to manage an organization like Correctional Service Canada. Honestly, I believe this mandate is extremely important to the safety of the Canadian public.

I'm aware of some challenges we'll face. I know Correctional Service Canada infrastructure is a topic that merits further study, and I want to do that work with my team. Of course, I also want to ensure the well-being of employees and make sure we offer the necessary programs and human services for inmates, so they can integrate into society as law-abiding citizens.

Costs and the inmate population are increasing. Many aspects of the inmate population are increasingly difficult to manage. The population is aging and has greater medical needs. Work is also needed on the system in general, because we're seeing more and more cases of mental health and drug issues.

Federally regulated crimes are also becoming increasingly violent. In terms of organized crime, which was discussed today, there's a real need to adopt a truly holistic approach to tackle the issue.

However, to stay focused on my mandate, I look forward to speaking with employees and members of Parliament. I already have meetings scheduled with some members to hear their feedback. I'd be happy to meet with others as well, and with partners such as non-profit organizations and, of course, unions.

I know there's a challenge. The financial situation requires taking time to look at ways to achieve more stability and address the growing needs of excluded employees. That number is increasing, and, of course, I think more consideration will need to be given to infrastructure.

I look forward to getting involved with everyone, understanding the reality and coming back with a proposal for the minister.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Mrs. DeBellefeuille, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent, QC]

I'm pleased to hear from you, Commissioner Dakalbab.

It's true that there are major challenges at Correctional Service Canada. I have visited two federal penitentiaries, Port-Cartier and Drummondville. I can sincerely say that I was struck by how dejected and burnt out the correctional officers were. There are never enough of them to meet the minimum ratio, putting their lives at risk. It's discouraging. It really affected me to see correctional officers who also suffer from a lack of recognition. There are many problems related to infrastructure as well. I think federal penitentiaries need some attention and modern equipment.

I think the voices of the people working in penitentiaries need to be heard. They know what's needed to do an effective job. It's also a matter of ensuring safety during interactions between inmates, and between inmates and staff.

I'm glad to see that you're open to meeting with us to hear our feedback on what we've seen during our visits. We'll schedule a meeting.

Finally, I have a quick question for Mr. Duheme.

I don't understand how it's possible to be efficient while cutting $44 million a year for three years. That's the spending reduction that the government asked you to achieve. You need more tools, more technologies, more equipment, modernization and drones. You need more border officers.

As an administrator and manager, how can you meet these needs while achieving the budget cuts required by the government?

[Commr Michael Duheme]

Mrs. DeBellefeuille, I would have been surprised not to have a question from you during this meeting.

I can tell you that the RCMP was spared from the 15% budget cuts that all departments faced. In our case, the cuts represent only 2% of expenses.

We can comfortably say that the $44‑million cut won't have any impact on our operations or our recruitment strategy. In fact, the cuts focus more on structure, at RCMP headquarters, and on travel and overtime expenditures, which we want to reduce.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent, QC]

It won't have any impact on—

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

I'm sorry, Mrs. DeBellefeuille, but I really must cut you off.

Mr. Gill, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses who are here today. It's always a pleasure to work together to make sure that we can serve all Canadians of this great nation.

I want to start off by mentioning that yesterday, the Minister of Public Safety boasted about the graduation of the first new cohort of CBSA officers, which is a tremendously great accomplishment, and we congratulate them. I feel that across all party lines, we are all very glad that 58 new officers are coming forward, but I want to bring forward concerns that were brought to my attention about the minister failing to mention that, of the cohort of 58 new graduates, only 28 are going to be put towards the 1,000 promised by the Liberals.

It's now March 2026. After months, we are still waiting for the number of graduates to increase, which we, and all Canadians actually, want to see. Will future cohorts be larger, and when can Canadians expect to see meaningful increases in numbers?

[Erin O'Gorman]

To date, we've hired 50 CBSA officers. We currently have 90 in various cohorts actively at the college, and I hope that all of them graduate—it's a tough program—by June. Then, we will be having cohorts every five weeks after that.

We have to cover attrition. As I said previously, at its height, it was around 300. It's been lower in the past few years, and we have had various initiatives from which we have already graduated people.

We are laser-focused on the uniformed members who will form part of that, and we're looking at any opportunity we have to do it faster, but as I said, we have the capacity for about 750 officer trainees to go through Rigaud each year. Attrition has been half of what it's been lately, and I don't expect a spike, so there might even be an opportunity to go a bit faster than planned.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Is there any way that you can provide a clear timeline within your capacity? When will these 1,000 officers be fully trained, deployed and operational? Is there any timeline you could give me?

[Erin O'Gorman]

We are doing that over the next three years, but we are looking for every opportunity to go faster. I'd be happy to report, at subsequent meetings, how we're doing on that.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

If the timeline you've placed in front of me of the next three years fails to be met, who will be held accountable?

[Erin O'Gorman]

I'll be held accountable.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

Would you also say the commitment of the minister has anything to do with it, as he has also made claims many times that this will be followed through on, as we know?

[Erin O'Gorman]

I feel my personal accountability here. I will leave it to the committee to talk about ministerial accountability. I have the people on the ground to put these individuals through.

We have about 300 pre-qualified people who have applied, and we have put them through the various paces to say that we would like to invite them to Rigaud. Then we map that against where we are going to send our officers. We're not going to flood one port of entry with all new people. It's about all of those puts and takes and how we put them out into our workforce in a way that maximizes their success.

[Sukhman Gill, Conservative, Abbotsford—South Langley, BC]

That gets right into my next question.

I talked about border vulnerability. My riding of Abbotsford—South Langley is a prime example of that. It's right next to a border crossing. I have a border crossing in Abbotsford. I have another border crossing within Aldergrove, and right next to my riding is Surrey, where there's another border crossing touching our Langley-Surrey border entry.

I've been talking to officers on the ground, and the Abbotsford Police Department specifically has mentioned to me the spike in the number of operations they've had to investigate, right next to the border, of people who are illegally crossing the border, and that they need to beef up security because our borders are vulnerable. That's what we are hearing from the Abbotsford Police Department and from the RCMP in Langley as well.

If and when these officers are actually deployed, how will they be distributed? When we look at Canada as a nation, our provinces, the province of British Columbia and my riding and community of Abbotsford—South Langley, what are the criteria you are using to decide which officers are sent where, and how are the Liberals choosing to prioritize officer deployment?

[Erin O'Gorman]

You mentioned ports of entry. I want to recognize that our officers who work in the Lower Mainland are doing an excellent job. Our seizure rate is up 60% for narcotics. Some of that is coming through, as I said, the Lower Mainland. This is just to say that they're doing an excellent job.

The deployment will be based on risk, largely. We see increased marine traffic. We see rail traffic increasing. We hope that as things evolve, more people will start crossing the border back and forth like they used to. We will go based on risk, volume and trade.

I briefly want to talk about the importance of our trade officers. It's one part of the mandate that sometimes gets missed. They are also important for the economic security of Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Jean-Yves Duclos]

Thank you very much.

Let's now turn to MP Powlowski for five minutes.

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Commissioner Duheme, we've talked a lot today about the need for more RCMP officers. Can you tell me how many RCMP officers are currently on prolonged sick leave specifically related to stress, PTSD and that sort of thing?