SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 13

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2021 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 13 - Dec/8/21
Hon. Mona Fortier
  • Dec/8/21 11:24:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will repeat that the government remains committed to maintaining the openness and transparency of government during this challenging time. The ATIP program is very important and we will—
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The Assistant Deputy Chair
  • Dec/8/21 11:25:00 p.m.
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The hon. member for Edmonton West.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:25:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the Information Commissioner has stated that the disastrous ATIP mess long preceded COVID, so it is not an excuse. Will the minister commit to zero tolerance for not delivering on what is in the legislation regarding ATIPs?
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Hon. Mona Fortier
  • Dec/8/21 11:25:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, ATIPs must meet the expectations of Canadians in terms of making information accessible, timely and reliable, while reflecting today's digital world. We have conducted a full review of the Access to Information Act that was launched in June 2020.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:25:46 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the minister's own departmental plan, signed by the previous Treasury Board minister, sets a percentage for public service employees who indicate they have been a victim of harassment. The goal is to have 12%. The goal is one out of every eight people. Why is the goal not zero tolerance for harassment?
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Hon. Mona Fortier
  • Dec/8/21 11:26:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, when it comes to harassment, our objective is zero harassment. We will continue to implement plans in all departments to ensure we meet this objective.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:26:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, if we wish to avoid harassment, we do not set a goal that 12% of staff can be harassed. We set a goal for zero tolerance. How much is in the estimates to settle class action suits against the government from its employees for harassment issues?
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Hon. Mona Fortier
  • Dec/8/21 11:26:41 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have a zero tolerance policy on harassment and we continue to work towards the goal of completely eliminating harassment in the workplace.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:26:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have read the estimates. There is a quarter of a billion dollars just for DND. Also, the government has not set zero tolerance as a goal. It has set 12% as a goal. Last night in her speech on the estimates, the Treasury Board president read right from the estimates documents that the estimates are seeking Parliament's approval for spending, yet the estimates contained $7.1 million for a book fair in Frankfurt that has already happened. Why is the government ignoring Treasury Board rules and asking for this money to be approved after the fact?
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Hon. Mona Fortier
  • Dec/8/21 11:27:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, today we presented the supplementary estimates (B). We have reviewed all of the expenditures over the past two days. Canadians can visit the website, where they will find all kinds of tools to help them understand the information we presented today. I hope we will be able to deal with it as planned.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:27:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the estimates process is for Parliament to approve money before spending it, yet there is $7 million for an event that has already happened. Does the President of the Treasury Board approve of the process of bypassing Parliament to spend money before being approved?
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Hon. Mona Fortier
  • Dec/8/21 11:28:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the supplementary estimates I tabled on November 26 provide details on government spending to parliamentarians and Canadians. They also represent a reconciliation of all the planned spending to date for this fiscal year and of the spending outlook provided with budget 2021.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:28:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the homeless rate in Edmonton is up 60% since the Liberals took over, yet Edmonton received just $15 million for the rapid housing initiative. How does it in any way make sense that Edmonton's homeless would get $15 million, but the government has $7 million for a book fair in Frankfurt?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Dec/8/21 11:29:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that is a very timely question, because, as the member should know, we implemented a national housing strategy in 2017 with the goal, and the intended result, of ending homelessness across Canada by—
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The Assistant Deputy Chair
  • Dec/8/21 11:29:17 p.m.
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The hon. member for Edmonton West.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:29:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague would know that I do know this, and the government is giving only twice as much for 2,800 homeless people in Edmonton as it did for a book fair in Frankfurt. We have seen the government claw back GIS benefits from seniors who received COVID support. How much has been clawed back from the tens of billions given to profitable multinationals and hedge funds for the wage subsidies?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 11:29:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, 15 million Canadians have been helped through the crisis, either through the wage subsidy, CERB or other tools, including helping seniors directly, so 15 million Canadians were able to make ends meet.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:30:05 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is remarkable that the former Treasury Board president fails to answer that because in committee he told us that the tens of billions of dollars for the wage subsidies did not even go through the Treasury Board process before the money went out the door, which is how we saw it go to hedge funds and multinationals. They are going after seniors by clawing back the GIS. How much is getting clawed back from these multinationals and hedge funds?
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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos
  • Dec/8/21 11:30:32 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the new President of the Treasury Board is fortunate to have a very well-informed and experienced critique, and the member knows there are two types of votes, legislative votes and these votes we are talking about now. The legislative votes were the votes needed to have the wage subsidy.
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Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • Dec/8/21 11:30:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, significant new spending has to go through the Treasury Board process. In the Treasury Board estimates there is $82 million for a COVID policy for public service. TBS officials told us it was for rapid testing purchases and distribution. The Treasury Board website shows there are 3,400 unvaccinated employees seeking accommodation. That works out to about $24,000 per employee for rapid testing. How does the government justify this?
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