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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

May/19/22 8:44:49 p.m.
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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?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

May/19/22 8:44:50 p.m.
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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.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:46:02 p.m.
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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?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:46:27 p.m.
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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.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:46:53 p.m.
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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?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:47:32 p.m.
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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.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:48:04 p.m.
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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?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:48:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, let me be very clear. I categorically do not agree with the premise of that member's question, and I am very disappointed he has asked it in that way.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:48:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, she may be disappointed, but those are the facts. Does the minister agree her government's neglect is sabotaging the House's constitutional duty to hold the government to account?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:49:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, this is a skills set shortage. To indicate that this is concocted is absolutely ridiculous.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:49:17 p.m.
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Madam Chair, can the minister confirm that there has been a 25% decline in the number of staff interpreters employed by the translation bureau since 2019?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:49:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I gave the numbers that we have who are employed with the translation bureau, and we are working hard to increase those numbers. It is a question of getting the skill set that is available.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:49:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, she has not in the previous question, but can she confirm in this question that there has been nearly a 40% decline in the number of freelance interpreters retained by the bureau since 2019?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:49:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am going to raise myself to a higher level here, which I always call myself to do, and I am going to disregard the allegations. I am going to talk about what we have done for interpreters. We have actually increased—

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The Deputy Chair

May/19/22 8:50:05 p.m.
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The hon. member.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:50:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, they are not allegations; they are actual facts. Does the minister acknowledge that hybrid Parliament has led to a ninefold increase in workplace injuries for our parliamentary interpreters?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:50:21 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the interpretation bureau employed 65 staff interpreters and 56 freelance interpreters in 2019 to 2020.

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Mr. John Brassard

May/19/22 8:50:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that was no answer. Knowing the role hybrid Parliament has had in skyrocketing workplace injury reports among the ever-dwindling ranks of interpreters, which are, again, facts, has the minister informed the government House leader that the single biggest step we can take to avert this looming catastrophe would be the end of hybrid Parliament and the return to regular parliamentary business?

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Hon. Filomena Tassi

May/19/22 8:50:59 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to point out and thank the interpreters for the amazing work they are doing. There has been a huge workload increase, and COVID has descended upon us. They have been absolutely fantastic. We have implemented measures like the headsets with sound limiters, reducing the length of their assignments and implementing rigorous COVID-19 safety measures. I thank our amazing interpreters.

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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Lib.)

May/19/22 8:51:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have heard today about the important work of Public Services and Procurement Canada. As the government's central purchaser and real property manager, the department is in a unique position to help reach important goals, and that includes our commitment to fighting climate change. Canadians deserve a clean, safe and sustainable environment now and into the future. The science on this front is clear. Human activities are driving unprecedented changes in the earth's climate, which pose significant risks to human health, security and economic growth. In Canada and around the world, the serious effects of climate change are so evident: coastal erosion, thawing permafrost, increases in heat waves, droughts and flooding, ecosystem changes, and risks to critical infrastructure, among other threats. That is why we have been hard at work implementing forward-thinking policies that will protect our environment now and leave the next generation with a cleaner planet. I can say what we have is a solid plan to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions through investments and support for green industries as we transition toward a low-carbon future. Part of that means we need to get our own house in order and green our government operations, and that is precisely what we are doing with our greening government strategy. The greening government strategy is our plan to attain net-zero emissions by 2050. The strategy supports Canada's sustainability goals already set out under the Paris Agreement on climate change and in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. We are on track to deliver the largest emissions reduction in our country's history. We have an opportunity here to be a global leader in government operations that are low-carbon, resilient and green. Public Services and Procurement Canada plays an important role in this regard. The department manages more than 20 billion dollars' worth of goods and services annually from thousands of suppliers. As the single largest purchaser of goods and services in this country, the impact the department can make is incredibly significant. Our government is committed to being a first purchaser to support the growth of new, clean and renewable power sources as they become available. Our policy on green procurement sets out exactly how we incorporate environmental considerations into our core business practices and drives our work in all of these areas. This is about using the federal buying power to generate social and economic benefits, and key among those is protecting our environment. As one example of procurement of goods and services with a high environmental impact, we are incorporating elements that address carbon reduction, sustainability and broader environmental benefits. This means we consider things like reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, improved energy and water efficiency, and reduced waste in the procurements that we undertake. It also means that we support the use of renewable resources, reduce hazardous waste and reduce toxic and hazardous substances when we make purchases. As we show environmental leadership, we can influence industry and Canadians to choose environmentally preferable and climate-resilient goods and services. We are doubling down on this front in our latest budget, tapping into Public Services and Procurement Canada to develop new tools, guidelines and targets. That means eventually more support for the adoption of green procurement across the federal government. Greening the federal fleet is another important piece of our plan. Our goal is that the government's light duty fleet will be comprised of 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2030. The federal fleet of the future will differ greatly from the existing one. It will be made up of a variety of low-carbon technologies. Its vehicles will operate efficiently and cost-effectively, and it will have much lower emissions and energy use. Through the energy services acquisition program, we have already cut greenhouse gas emissions by 57% from the baseline year of 2005, and we are on track to meet our goal of net-zero emissions by 2030. In addition to procurement, the department is also responsible for managing the Government of Canada's real property portfolio, and it is leading the charge to green our federal buildings, a commitment made under the greening government strategy. I would note that in Canada, building operations and construction materials account for 38% of our greenhouse gas emissions. We know we must make them more environmentally friendly, and the government must lead by example. We have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 at the latest. I can say that we are making good progress. We are doing it through green building practices by using sustainable materials, optimizing our space usage and lowering energy consumption. We are also focused on achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, also known as LEED, and Green Globe standards, which recognize the use of green products and materials. I am proud to say we have several LEED gold- or platinum-certified buildings across the country. Every step counts, and some of the most basic changes we are making, such as converting all lighting in our buildings to more efficient LED lighting, will have a major impact on our efforts. More and more, we are using smart buildings technology, which means we save energy by monitoring and controlling the mechanical, heating, cooling and lighting systems in federal buildings. These systems allow us to make a real impact by using innovative technologies and identifying opportunities for energy savings. It is improving how we manage the energy performance of our buildings. In 2017, Public Services and Procurement Canada set an important precedent by creating a carbon-neutral portfolio planned to achieve carbon neutrality across our real property portfolio by 2050, with an aspirational target of 2030, and zero carbon for its portfolio, which includes 360 buildings across the country. To that end, Public Services and Procurement Canada implemented a broad investment strategy to rehabilitate our federal buildings across the country. These are major retrofits that will contribute to low-carbon operations. The Arthur Meighen Building in Toronto is a great example. Here in the national capital region, work is under way on modernizing Les Terrasses de la Chaudière and the Place de Portage office complexes. Redesigned office spaces in these buildings will offer much more natural light, allowing us to cut costs and reduce dependence on artificial lighting. The government continues to do more to equip buildings with green fixtures and features, such as installing solar panels and green habitats on roofs, as well rainwater capture systems to reduce the buildings' demand on the city's water infrastructure. These steps transform our buildings, and this change in how we think about the way we work will usher in a new era of sustainable green government. In another major greening project, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, we are modernizing the network of plants that heats and cools over 80 federal buildings in Ottawa. The department manages five central plants that heat and cool more than 80 public and privately owned buildings in the national capital region, including the Parliament buildings. Modernization will increase safety, efficiency, reliability and environmental performance, and result in a reduction of operating costs and an estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 33%. Future activities will move toward deeper greening by replacing natural gas with carbon-neutral fuels for baseload operation. This is a move that has the potential to reduce total emissions by 90% by 2030. These are just a few examples of the important work happening at Public Services and Procurement Canada to fight climate change. Our government has a solid plan in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so we can leave a healthier, cleaner planet for our kids and our grandkids. Public Services and Procurement Canada is an important part of that plan, and I am proud of the work the department continues to do for all Canadians.

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