Debates of June 12th, 2025

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

Resuming debate, I recognize the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am participating virtually and sharing my time, which I believe is 15 minutes, with the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.

I will start my questions to the hon. President of the Treasury Board through you, Mr. Chair.

I have gone back to the 2021 mandate letter, the last I could find, to the President of the Treasury Board. I am wondering if he can tell us whether pursuit of the greening of government strategy, which was a priority then in 2021, remains a priority for the government.

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Chair, that is a very important question. We are committed to government operations that are net zero, climate resilient and green. We are committed to greening government strategies, establishing the Government of Canada's targets and commitments to get to net zero and green operations by 2050 and enhance the climate resilience office operation by 2035.

Our efforts have resulted in positive results as of 2023-2024. Eighty-three per cent of the applicable light-duty vehicles purchased by the federal government were green. Greenhouse gas emissions for our real property and conventional vehicle fleet were reduced by 42% compared to—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am trying to keep my question short to keep the minister a chance to answer it briefly.

In 2021, another priority was to improve whistle-blower protection in the Government of Canada. Does that remain a priority, yes or no?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, there is a task force to examine the opportunity to improve the disclosure process. I look forward to receiving its report this spring.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, through you to the President of the Treasury Board, is whistle-blower protection a priority?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, the government is committed to promoting a positive, respectful and safe public sector culture that is grounded in values and ethics and inspires public trust. The Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act protects public servants against reprisals when they report a wrongdoing.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, the President of the Treasury Board spoke earlier tonight of $9 billion in defence spending. Given the Prime Minister's comments that our relationship with the U.S. as it once was is over, I would like to ask if the government has any concerns that putting billions of dollars of Canadian funds into defence systems that require going back to the United States for spare parts is a wise investment for defence.

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, in the supplementary estimates (A), we have a historic investment in national defence, which is $9 billion. We are at a pivotal time when Canada needs more automated equipment for our men and women to secure our borders, to secure our future, to—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, my question was whether we should be relying on the United States for purchases that could be made from other countries that are not currently hostile to our economic success as a nation.

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, in the announcement the Prime Minister made for defence, he said we are diversifying our partners, including those in Europe and the U.K., so we are looking into how we could build our defence capabilities together.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, I learned from our former colleague John McKay that, when he was touring Scandinavia as chair of the defence committee, he asked why Sweden had such successful high-tech and defence contractors. The Swedish government told him it was because it provided free post-secondary education and, therefore, attracted a very skilled workforce.

Would the President of the Treasury Board consider advocating for free post-secondary education to enhance our capacity economically?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, we believe in making investments in priorities that are most important to Canadians, and we are taking actions to build up a country where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, would the government recognize that post-secondary education is underfunded but little discussed, and that it would be a wise investment for our economy to provide more support for universities and post-secondary?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, that is a very important question, but I would remind my hon. colleague that this is provincial territory. We give a transfer, whether it is for health care or other areas, to provinces and territories. They are the ones who are responsible for their—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Chair, by my clock, I have now used six minutes and 40 seconds. I have seven minutes and a half.

I would like to suggest that it does not violate the rules of this place to do something unusual. I have been watching my colleagues, for the fifth night in a row, sitting in one place and abiding by our rules, which the Chair is executing brilliantly. It is tough. It is short answers. People are not having time to breathe or move. As an act of charity, I would like to take my last 10 seconds to count to 10, and I urge my colleagues to stand up and stretch: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

We can now go to the brilliant member for Edmonton Strathcona.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Chair, I would like to extend my congratulations to the minister on his appointment.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has warned that, to pay for the government's promises, deep cuts to the federal public service will be unavoidable. Canadians deserve to know what things are going to be cut. Is it their public health care system? Is it veteran services? What will be cut to make sure that the government can live up to the promises they have already made?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Chair, I would like to congratulate my colleague for her re-election.

We will balance our operating budget over the next three years by cutting waste, capping the size of public service and using AI to boost public—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Chair, without a budget, it will be difficult for any Canadian to take the minister at his word.

The disability benefit is something that was brought up earlier this evening. The payments are meant to be starting in July, and the process to apply for the disability benefit has not even opened yet. Nothing has been done.

How does this minister expect that he will be able to pay people the insufficient, but very necessary, disability benefit?

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, ON]

Mr. Chair, this falls under the minister for ESDC, but there is $87.5 billion for pension and benefits, including disability benefits.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Chair, the minister is responsible for ensuring that those benefits are paid to people living with a disability. I would say those are the people in this country who are most vulnerable and are constantly being asked to wait by the government.

The minister also spoke about the important role Canada will continue to play in the world and talked about defence spending. While the New Democrats are happy with the 2% defence spending announcement, I am very concerned about an 11% cut to spending on peace and security.

How does he account for that?