Transport Committee on May 30th, 2023

[Michael Gordon]

Yes, it would have to be.... The Red Seal folks are partners with the federal government and they are looking for opportunities to increase the value and the uptake of Red Seal for the pan-Canadian mobility of our workforce.

To your point, having a database like that taken on specifically by the federal government would provide that opportunity, and it would carry over to other opportunities that were also mentioned, such as the mobility of safety qualifications. Right now, if I have a particular WHMIS certification in one province and I'm qualified and I travel to meet a work requirement to work on a power plant or any infrastructure, I have to repeat the exact same training—out of pocket—even though I'm already qualified.

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

I understand. Thank you for that.

You were speaking about the Red Seal program, and I understand it inherently. Our leader, Pierre Poilievre, is speaking extensively on the blue seal program that we would introduce. That's for doctors and nurses who come in from other countries. It would get them an answer in 60 days and allow them to write an aptitude test, so to speak, and go province to province.

You did mention new Canadians earlier on. I'm wondering if you think this blue seal program would be beneficial for new Canadians, to get these folks very quick answers so that they also could go across in our skilled trades system to shore up the shortage in labour.

[Michael Gordon]

Absolutely. I'm very familiar with the Red Seal and less familiar with the blue seal, but if it's in any manner a direct relation—it sounds like it—yes, it would provide high value. For new Canadians specifically, as we mentioned, let's set them up for success. We've oriented people from Africa and Australia who come here. The training in Africa might be one week for a plumber, whereas in Australia it's equivalent to that of Canadians here, so it would be an easier transition. To bring in somebody from a country with one week of training is certainly setting them up for failure.

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Gordon.

I'll go to you, Ms. Eyquem.

I don't expect you to be a professional in what I'm about to ask you, but I am leading to somewhere. I'm going to talk about ZEV or zero-emissions vehicle mandates.

Canada has a target of 60% ZEVs by 2030. The United States has a target of 67% by 2032. Generally speaking, Canada follows the U.S. EPA. Now, because these two don't align, it's very difficult for the manufacturers. About 82% of all vehicles and parts manufactured in Canada are shipped to the United States. I would think we'd want to very much align with the United States.

I'm asking you this question because you spoke about coordination. Would you suggest we need to be coordinating not just within Canada but also, from a climate aspect, very closely with the United States, as well?

[Joanna Eyquem]

Thanks for the question on coordination.

I think coordination is very key. The model we're talking about.... My expertise is in climate adaptation rather than mitigation. I would say that something like FEMA in the U.S. coordinates resiliency. Having a chief resiliency officer for Canada who would help oversee the whole of resilience across government would be a very good idea.

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Thank you so much, Ms. Eyquem.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Lewis.

Now, to wrap things up is Mr. Iacono for five minutes.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.

You're the mayor, Mr. Dupuis, so tell us, if you would, about the improvements to the Richard‑Gosselin arena in Saint‑Ours. It's a small municipality, as you said, and the project was funded under the investing in Canada infrastructure program. Can you tell us how the repairs improved the facility and made the rink safer for the community?

[Sylvain Dupuis]

You're right. It was a fine project, a three-way effort involving the federal and provincial governments. Thanks to the project, our small community got a multi-purpose building, which is in the process of being finished. The community can use the building 365 days a year. There's an indoor rink in the winter, and a large canopy-covered area in the summer that can be used for countless community activities.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

That's great.

Earlier, though, in response to questions from members on the other side, you said that it was hard to obtain federal funding and that small municipalities were always overlooked. On the contrary, as you just stated, you received funding.

I'm going to repeat what you said: In your experience, it was very difficult to access funding under the infrastructure program. However, you are familiar with the Canada community-building fund, formerly known as the gas tax fund, which provides funding twice a year for projects in categories such as wastewater infrastructure, and local roads and bridges. As you know, that money comes from the federal government.

Would you still say it's difficult to obtain federal funding, when you have a fine example of a federally funded project? The fund has even been indexed a few times. In fact, it was doubled during the pandemic.

Could you please tell us about the projects you've completed in the past two or three years thanks to that funding?

[Sylvain Dupuis]

You're right, the fund is very helpful to municipalities, all of which have access to the funding. We've had to make major investments in our underground infrastructure, the wastewater system. Obviously, the funding is never enough. That is in no way a criticism of the federal government. We love having that funding. The problem is that our needs are growing across the board.

Being an older municipality, we have aging infrastructure. When we dig to do road work, we find out that the sewers have to be replaced because they're so old, and the same goes for the water lines. A full-blown infrastructure renewal project is obviously a huge undertaking. When you're a small municipality, it requires a lot of planning.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

You said earlier that you got the go‑ahead to start the project from a previous government, but that it wasn't finished. Why wasn't it finished?

Since our government came to power in 2015, you have received funding, and that funding has increased. You could have finished the bridge and had the luxury of saying you had road access, but you chose to spend the money elsewhere.

You can't say that the current government hasn't helped you. On the contrary, the current government has invested more money. Montreal's Champlain Bridge is an excellent example. Under the previous government, the project never left the study phase. Two years after the Liberal government came to power in 2015, the bridge was already being built, and now the old bridge is being dismantled.

Therefore, I would say that our government has done more for infrastructure than the previous government. You rightly highlighted something important: infrastructure needs are huge. Why do you think that is? Not much was done in the decade before our government came to power. During our time in office, we have been making significant investments in infrastructure, and the official opposition has criticized us for that spending.

What are you going to say in 10 years' time? Which party didn't do its job?

[Sylvain Dupuis]

I am not criticizing the parties. I would love to have you sit down with me to look at our infrastructure projects and talk about the bridge. That kind of work isn't possible with the amounts available through the gas tax. Whichever government is in power, as Canadians, we need to be ambitious. Those are precisely the fine initiatives we can work on.

Basically, what I was suggesting earlier was that we sit down to look at the options and do the analysis. If all three levels of government come together, federal, provincial and municipal, I think we can easily reach an agreement. I'm prepared to invest my share, and I think my municipal counterparts would be as well. What we need to do is sit down together and move this forward.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Talk to your MP about that. They can discuss it with the ministers responsible.

[Sylvain Dupuis]

I'd be happy to.

Thank you, sir.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Iacono.

Thank you, Mr. Dupuis.

Thank you to all of our witnesses for being here today in person or joining us virtually online.

With that, the meeting is adjourned.