Debates of May 19th, 2022

Public Works and Government Services—Main Estimates, 2022-23

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, again, I will reiterate: when we hear of allegations, we take those allegations very seriously. We have terms in the contract that allow us to terminate the contracts. We act on allegations that we hear.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, it seems that the government should be listening to what our allies are doing and actually paying attention better to what is going on around the world.

An independent analysis completed for the government last year by the University of Nottingham Rights Lab found that only five of 48 vendors had appropriate policies in place to mitigate risks around human trafficking and forced labour.

Why do so few of our vendors have appropriate policies in place, and yet why have we only discontinued, as far as I am aware, one contract?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, what I would say is that we have implemented a number of measures in this regard to eradicate forced labour. Four ministers have mandate commitments in their mandate letters to move forward with the eradication of forced labour.

For me, in PSPC, I am going to do everything I can to prevent forced labour in the supply chains. We have made progress and we are going to continue to move forward.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, the minister notes promises in mandate letters to bring forward future legislation. We do not have a timeline around that legislation, when it comes in, but meanwhile we are purchasing products from companies where our allies have already noticed and said that there is a problem with forced labour in their supply chain.

Minister, that simply is not good enough.

Does the government purchase any products at all that are produced in Xinjiang?

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member has to address questions and comments to the Chair.

The hon. minister.

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, the member is being selective in repeating the things that I am saying. I am talking about the commitments and the progress that we have made. We have made progress. We have a code of conduct. We have provisions in our contracts that say if forced labour is used, then the contract is terminated. We have extended CUSMA obligations with respect to forced labour. We are moving.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, there are provisions in contracts that allow the termination of contracts, and contracts are simply not being terminated. My last question was this: Does the government purchase any products that are produced in Xinjiang?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, again, when we find out about forced labour issues that are raised to us, we take those seriously. We investigate those, and we will not procure product—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, again, that is not an answer, but on another question, does the government purchase any products produced by Nuctech, and has the government purchased any surveillance cameras or other security equipment made in China?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, with respect to Nuctech, let me say that the safety and security of embassies is important. No contract has been issued. All issues regarding the security will be—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, I want to be very clear, because I am not just asking about embassies. I am asking in general, across government procurement.

Has any part of the government purchased products produced by Nuctech or purchased any surveillance cameras or other security equipment made in China?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, let me be very clear. There were seven bidders. Three were compliant. Nuctech was one of them, so they are on the standing order but with no call-ups, so there is no contract with Nuctech.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, does that include CBSA?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, would the member clarify the question he is asking me as to whether it includes CBSA? Can he give me more clarification there?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Chair, that is the third time I have asked this question. Is any part of government procurement happening from Nuctech, and is any part of government purchasing surveillance cameras or security equipment made in China?

I hope we get an accurate answer.

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, there are none. There are no contracts that we have procured. If we have procured contracts for CBSA, none of them were from Nuctech. We have not procured from them.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Chair, our interpreters are truly the glue that holds together our bilingual Parliament, and I will be asking the minister questions concerning parliamentary interpretation.

Our bilingual Parliament is the product of a strong Conservative legacy. Sir John A. MacDonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier made the use of both official languages an essential right in this Parliament when they negotiated Confederation; Richard Bennett established the translation bureau, which has ensured that unilingual parliamentarians have had access to the words of their colleagues; John Diefenbaker introduced the use of simultaneous interpretation into the proceedings of this House, permitting real-time comprehension for all MPs, and Brian Mulroney finally entrenched the right to parliamentary interpretation in the Official Languages Act.

Sadly, the Liberal government has neglected the interpretation services for this House, which have regrettably atrophied and been overwhelmed. We live in the consequences every day now, and it is just another chapter in the Liberals' democratic decline.

Does the minister agree with me that our interpreters are an absolutely essential feature of Parliament, and that we must do everything we can to support them?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Chair, my thanks to the member for his indication at the beginning of the question of where he was going with it.

I agree that we have two official languages, and at all times it is important that we have interpretation, especially during the very exceptional circumstances that we have been experiencing.

In budget 2021, we recognized the changing needs of the translation bureau and committed $18 million for the translation bureau to respond to a higher volume of translation and interpretation requests, while continuing to support a remote working environment. This is going to ensure the parliamentarians and Canadians receive timely translation and interpretation services in both official languages, as well as indigenous languages, sign languages and other languages spoken across Canada.

However, I appreciate the member's question with respect to the stress that is being put on them during this very trying time, because of remote work and virtual appearances at committees. We are going to continue to support the translation bureau, and I want to thank them for the great work that they are doing.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Chair, I am glad to hear the minister's commitment, but her department's record speaks to the contrary. The minister was a member of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in 2018 when it reported to the House that the “Translation Bureau...is mandated by statute to be the exclusive provider of translation and interpretation services...to Parliament.”

Does she still stand by the view she helped write in the report?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, we want to continuously work with the translation bureau to ensure it can provide the services that are needed. We know there is a stress on the system, and it is actually about hiring interpreters to commit to this. There is a limited pool of expertise in this regard, and we continue to work on it.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Chair, we have had committees tightly rationed with meeting time in the past few weeks, and we have seen many committee meetings, including very important meetings, cancelled because of a lack of interpretation services. Simply put, our committees cannot do the things they want, and they certainly cannot hold the government to account adequately.

If her translation bureau is supposed to be the exclusive provider of services, is she not concerned about the lack of resources she is making available to support the proceedings of this House and its committees, and what is the minister doing to actually make sure Parliament has the resources necessary to hold the government to account?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, we are working with two educational colleges in order to tap into the specialized translation services. One needs to have credentials that meet qualifications. There is a skills shortage and there are workplace challenges with respect to remote work, but we have 65 staff interpreters and 56 freelance interpreters.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Chair, earlier I mentioned the great concerns the opposition parties are having in terms of our ability to hold the government to account, and it is at the mercy of the resources the government makes available for that purpose.

Has the government been gaming the system to ensure the resources are unavailable for the committees it does not like, such as the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency and its motion to order the production of documents on the Liberals' increasingly flimsy invocation of the Emergencies Act?