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House Hansard - 75

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Hon. Filomena Tassi (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • May/19/22 9:01:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, to begin, I would like to confirm that we are committed to real action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings, as is outlined in my mandate letter. We have opportunities here, and we want to seize these opportunities and demonstrate leadership. This past year alone, we reported a 57.6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings, as compared to the baseline laid out in 2005 and 2006. This is a result of important actions to improve buildings' energy efficiency, electricity grid improvements and the procurement of renewable energy credits. A decrease of 19% of the remaining emissions is expected by 2025 through the procurement of clean electricity. That is the national clean electricity initiative. A decrease of 40% of the remaining emissions is expected by 2025, by modernizing the heating and cooling systems for up to 80 buildings in the national capital region. This is referred to as the energy services acquisition program. Additional greenhouse gas emissions reductions are expected as we continue to modernize buildings. These ongoing actions, in conjunction with achievements to date, will lead us towards achieving over 82% of greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2025 and put us in a very good position to achieve net-zero carbon by 2030 in our buildings portfolio. We also have the Buy Clean strategy. As outlined in my mandate letter, we are committed to reducing the carbon footprint and encouraging green procurement strategies. This includes strengthening federal procurement practices to prioritize reusable and recyclable products in support of our goal of zero plastic waste. We will also work with our colleagues to introduce a new Buy Clean strategy to support and prioritize the use of made-in-Canada low-carbon products. Protecting our planet is a top priority for our government, and we will continue to do our part in promoting ecofriendly practices. We also have made efforts on the electric vehicle front. We are committed to greening government at all levels of procurement. As the manager of the government fleet, we have standing offers for light-duty vehicles that include electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In the past three years, we have procured 1,187 zero-emission and hybrid vehicles. We will continue working with industry to ensure we are finding new ways to support green procurement opportunities.
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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk
  • May/19/22 9:05:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in my hometown we build the award-winning, world-class Chrysler Pacifica minivan. It is the first and only hybrid minivan produced here in Canada, and something we are extremely proud of in my hometown of Windsor. I just wanted to ask the minister whether the greening government strategy will have a positive impact, as I foresee it will, on communities such as mine that build electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.
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Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 9:06:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am absolutely delighted to hear of that announcement. That important investment is absolutely going to be a game-changer, in terms of the production of electric vehicles. Of course we want to increase that and make it easy and convenient for people to purchase and drive electric vehicles.
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The Deputy Chair
  • May/19/22 9:06:19 p.m.
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There are 13 seconds left.
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Mr. Irek Kusmierczyk
  • May/19/22 9:06:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just wanted to really acknowledge the minister for answering questions all this evening. She is just an absolute superstar. I just wanted to acknowledge that in the form of a question.
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The Deputy Chair
  • May/19/22 9:06:37 p.m.
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There is no time left. Resuming debate, the hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay (South Surrey—White Rock, CPC)
  • May/19/22 9:06:44 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the government has named the F-35 the successful bidder for the future fighter requirement. The minister, on CTV's Question Period on Sunday, April 3, 2022, said, “At the end of the day, when this contract is signed, there will be guaranteed industrial benefits.” Does the minister still say that this is correct?
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Hon. Filomena Tassi (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • May/19/22 9:07:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am happy to say that in this strong procurement process, which was rigorous and competitive, we gave the highest weighting to economic benefits, and we are very pleased that we were able to do that, because we want to ensure that Canadians, of course, are benefiting from this.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay
  • May/19/22 9:07:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Bagotville and Cold Lake cannot prepare for the F-35, because there has been no contract signed. When will the F-35 contract be signed?
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Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 9:07:37 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am very pleased to say that we are in the finalization stage, and we expect the contract to be signed before the end of this year.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay
  • May/19/22 9:07:47 p.m.
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Minister, we know that Lockheed was allowed to bid after the government changed existing ITB rules requiring 100% offsets. Innovation, Science and Economic Development decided to allow F-35 to submit a best-efforts ITB proposal that would be negatively scored, because it was unable to guarantee benefits. Does the minister agree with that?
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The Deputy Chair
  • May/19/22 9:08:12 p.m.
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The hon. member should address all questions and comments to the Chair please. The hon. minister.
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Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 9:08:17 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what I agree with is the heavy weighting that was given to economic benefits. I think that this was very important, and there are procedures in the process that are set up in order to ensure that those economic benefits are honoured.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay
  • May/19/22 9:08:32 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the minister knows that, as a member of the consortium, Canada gets the F-35 at the same price as the United States in the year of purchase. Can she confirm that is correct?
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Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 9:08:46 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we are in the negotiation phase. We are very pleased that the process was competitive, and we know that we are going to get the best price based on a competitive process.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay
  • May/19/22 9:08:58 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as I just stated, that is already set as part of the consortium agreement. Does the minister actually suggest that somehow Canada is going to be able to have a different process than the others in the consortium when it comes to price?
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Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 9:09:16 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what is being worked out right now are the details of that process so that, in this finalization stage, those intricate details are being written to sign a contract so that we know exactly what we are receiving.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay
  • May/19/22 9:09:34 p.m.
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Madam Chair, can the minister confirm that Canada is purchasing a block of F-35 fight planes from the scrapped Turkish purchase of Block 3 aircraft while the latest model, the Block 4, is unavailable; in other words, a less capable fighter?
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Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 9:09:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, one of the advantages with this process is that we are getting the latest and greatest plane. We are delighted that, in this procurement and in this investment that we are making, we will be getting the latest and greatest F-35.
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Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay
  • May/19/22 9:10:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, some $15 billion in defence spending was included in the budget but not declared or attached to anything. Can the minister tell us why, and what is that for?
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