:
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I will try to be economical in my remarks.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to present to you today the 2020-21 main estimates and supplementary estimates (B) for the public safety portfolio. Fortunately, in order to provide explanation to the committee of these figures in greater detail and to answer the questions that members may have, I am very pleased today to be joined by Rob Stewart, deputy minister of public safety; Michelle Tessier, deputy director at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service; President John Ossowski, Canada Border Services Agency; the senior deputy commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, Alain Tousignant; Commissioner Lucki of the RCMP; and Jennifer Oades, chair of the Parole Board of Canada.
Mr. Chair, before I get to the estimates, allow me to take a very brief moment to recognize the hard work, professionalism and dedication of the employees across the nine organizations of my portfolio. Their collective efforts, Mr. Chair, have helped protect our borders, our communities, our corrections institutions and our national security. This year in particular, amid the unprecedented COVID pandemic, they have continued to serve Canadians and, I believe, have done an exemplary job in their work to keep us safe.
The estimates before you today reflect the breadth of that work. In my allotted time today, I hope to provide a broad overview of the estimates, highlighting some of the most substantial items for the organizations within my portfolio.
Let me begin with the 2020-21 main estimates. As members will note, the public safety portfolio as a whole is requesting a total of $9.7 billion for this fiscal year. Overall, the portfolio's funding has remained stable over the last few years, averaging 2.6% annual growth based on available funding authorities from 2014-15 to 2019-20. Spending increases for the portfolio in this fiscal year are also expected to be in line with those in previous years.
I'll break things down by organization, Mr. Chair.
Public Safety Canada is seeking a total of $725 million in these main estimates. You will note that there is a request for an increase in funds to protect people from unnecessary violence and to work towards holding criminals to account. This includes an additional $25 million to take action against gun and gang violence, over $10 million to combat human trafficking and to protect children from online sexual exploitation, and additional investments for the national cyber security strategy. Additionally, we are working towards providing additional support for the first nations policing program as well as for infrastructure projects in indigenous communities.
I will now turn to this year's main estimates for other organizations in the public safety portfolio.
CBSA is seeking a total of just over $2.2 billion in 2020-21, a net increase of $80 million or 3.8% over the previous year. The most substantial item affecting this change in funding levels for the CBSA is an additional $75 million to implement and to maintain the agency's assessment and revenue management project. Once fully implemented, this project will modernize and streamline the process of importing commercial goods. The goal is to reduce the administrative burden for importers and other trade partners and to increase CBSA's efficiency and Government of Canada revenues.
The CBSA's main estimates of 2020-21 also include an increase of $17.3 million to enhance the operational response related to the fight against gun and gang violence. Also, you will recall that by launching the Canadian travel number, we have delivered on our commitment to improve air security and offer redress to those who were falsely flagged on the no-fly list. The main estimates include $12.3 million to implement amendments to the Secure Air Travel Act and to introduce a framework for the passenger protect program.
I will now turn to the RCMP, which is seeking total funding in the amount of $3.5 billion in the main estimates for 2020-21. In terms of increases, additional funds relate to contract policing services; support for the renewal of the RCMP's radio communications system infrastructure in Ontario, Quebec and the national capital region; and over $20 million in funding to strengthen federal cybercrime enforcement.
The Correctional Service of Canada is requesting a total of $2.6 billion in the main estimates for 2020-21. The most substantial investment is an additional $49.7 million to support the transformation of the federal corrections system following the passage into law of Bill .
As members know, we have eliminated administrative segregation. The new system, called structured intervention units, is designed to provide inmates the opportunity for more time out of their cells and for meaningful human contact, as well as targeted interventions and programs. They also must receive daily health care visits by a registered health professional and comprehensive mental health assessments. As we have recently been informed, there is much more work to do, though progress is being made. We'll continue to work with groups to ensure adequate reporting and oversight and to measure the progress being made in achieving these important goals.
On that note, Mr. Chair, I will now turn to the portfolio's supplementary estimates, which so far this year total $523.3 million. This represents a small percentage, only 5.4% of the $9.7-billion base funding requested in the main estimates.
On a portfolio-wide basis, the total authority sought in the supplementary estimates (B) more specifically would result in a net increase of $203.2 million. This represents a 1.9% increase over the total authorities provided to date, for a total of $10.7 billion.
If I may, I'll highlight a few key items in these estimates across the portfolio.
Most notably, CSC is seeking $143.3 million in additional funding for support for the Correctional Service of Canada. The supplementary estimates also include a transfer of $58.8 million from Public Safety Canada to the RCMP, and this is for first nations community policing. This transfer covers the cost of the policing services provided by the RCMP under tripartite agreements among Public Safety Canada, the provinces and territories, and first nations.
The RCMP is also seeking $14.5 million in these estimates to implement and maintain the national cybercrime solution. This will provide the national cybercrime coordination unit with the IM/IT functions it needs to receive, store, analyze and share cybercrime data and establish a public reporting website.
The CBSA is seeking an additional $6 million for measures to enhance the integrity of Canada's borders and asylum system, and is also seeking funds to crack down on fraudulent consultants. More specifically, funding will support an IT system and changes to ensure that CBSA's case management systems reflect the recent changes to Canada's immigration laws.
Finally, Mr. Chair, I'll note that your documents also outline the 2020-21 main estimates and supplementary estimates (B) for CSIS, the Parole Board of Canada, the Office of the Correctional Investigator, the RCMP External Review Committee, and the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. Additional funds for the Parole Board of Canada, in particular, will work towards addressing workload capacity for those involved with decisions pertaining to conditional release to ensure we are keeping our communities safe.
This has been a difficult year for Canadians, but regardless of the area in which they work, our employees have risen to the challenge. They work hard to keep us safe and secure.
Mr. Chair, I welcome the opportunity for me and my officials to answer any questions the committee may have.
Thank you, sir.
:
Thank you very much. I agree that this is a very important question.
Floods and the recovery from those floods have significantly impacted Canadians rights across the country and, as we both know, in the province of Quebec. That's why the mandated me in my portfolio to take action to create a more resilient and sustainable approach to floods in Canada. A very important and key component of this approach involves the creation of an interdisciplinary task force on flood insurance and relocation, as we announced earlier last week.
The task force will be given the job of looking at options to protect homeowners who are at high risk of flooding and who do not have adequate insurance protection and to examine the viability of low-cost national flood insurance programs. The task force is made up of representatives of the federal government, the provinces and territories and first nations. We've also gone into the private sector; for example, the insurance industry is represented at that discussion.
We will be sharing information and working closely together to engage various departments, including first nations off reserve, in providing a more effective response. I've also worked with the infrastructure minister with respect to providing funding to various jurisdictions for flood mitigation and flood prevention initiatives. It's a very comprehensive approach.
Angelo, we believe that the work of this task force in providing greater resiliency and protection for the victims of floods as well as a national insurance plan is going to be key to helping us provide a much more effective response.
I won't take the time to speak about this, but you know as well that the government, through the DFAA program, provides funding through the provinces to assist with flood response. We believe that a dollar invested in prevention is a far more effective dollar than one simply invested in recovery. We'll always be there for people who are victimized by floods, but we are doing some very important work to mitigate those problems before they happen.
:
Thank you very much. This is a very important question.
There are nearly 14,000 people serving sentences in our corrections institutions, and we have a duty of care to protect them during the unique challenges that occur in our correctional institutions as a result of COVID.
During the first wave, the Correctional Service of Canada did an extraordinary job, working with the Public Health Agency of Canada, provincial health authorities and regional health authorities, in making sure that their institutions were safe.
When infections were brought from the community into the institution, I believe they took some really extraordinary steps. There have been health and safety audits and infection control audits. They provided PPE to inmates and to corrections workers in the institutions. There have been a number of very effective measures. As a consequence, after the first wave they were able to wrestle that pandemic in the institutions well under control.
We were very fortunate to go a number of months, but unfortunately, with the recent surge within the community, we're starting to see that surge reflected. In your riding in particular, in the Drummond Institution, we now have 18 inmates suffering from infection, and a number of corrections officers, who of course live in the community. We are also monitoring very carefully the federal training institution, with which you are very familiar.
As of today, there are 95 inmates in the federal population right across the country who are infected with COVID. They are receiving treatment within the institutions, and we are taking very significant steps on that.
If there is more time, I would invite the deputy director of the Correctional Service of Canada to talk about some of their measures. I think the model that the Correctional Service of Canada implemented is a model that would serve well, to all of the provincial governments and other jurisdictions to show how effective safety measures can be implemented to keep inmates safe.
:
Thank you very much, Mr. Simard, for a very important and very timely question, because exactly as you have explained, last spring, when COVID first became prevalent in North America, there were quite a number of Canadians, particularly Canadians from Quebec, who were down on spring break in the United States and in other places in the world. They had, under the Constitution, a right of return. We will always let Canadians return. Unfortunately, that did create a vulnerability.
The current situation is that, first of all, Global Affairs Canada is strongly advising all Canadians not to travel out of the country, to remain in Canada, but of course we don't have the authority to prevent people from making the choice to go to other jurisdictions. The rules that you talk about being circumvented are not actually Canada's rules; they are the United States' rules. The United States, although they closed the land border reciprocally with us last March as a result of discussions and arrangements that we made to restrict non-essential travel, did not put in place restrictions to prevent people from flying into their country similar to those Canada put in place.
In Canada, the rules are quite strict that non-essential travel is restricted in both land and air modes. In the United States, the Americans have allowed people to continue to fly into the U.S. As a consequence, some Canadians are in fact making the decision to fly into the U.S. to vacation or to spend their winter in Florida, in Arizona or in other places. They are not breaking any of our laws, but let me assure you that upon their return to Canada, first of all, under the Constitution, they will have a right to re-enter Canada, but they will be ordered into quarantine by whatever rules may exist at the time of their return. Right now, that's a 14-day quarantine. They will be ordered and required to quarantine upon their return.
CBSA has to allow Canadians to re-enter Canada, but they will be subject to the Public Health Agency of Canada's rules under the Quarantine Act and will be subject to quarantine. We will continue to discourage it, because, frankly, any Canadian travelling to another jurisdiction.... I would strongly urge them not to do that, but should they choose to do that, they should make sure they have good health insurance and make sure that they will have access to adequate health care.
Welcome, , to our committee for the main estimates.
As you know, our committee is undertaking a study of systematic racism in policing in Canada, and we have a lot of evidence before us.
I want to draw your attention to the report of retired Supreme Court justice Bastarache last week, entitled “Broken Dreams — Broken Lives”. It's a very appalling account of what he referred to as a “toxic culture” within the RCMP that encourages or at least tolerates misogynistic, homophobic and racist attitudes. He went so far as to say that he didn't believe that the RCMP could change the culture from the inside. In fact, he said, “true change can only take hold...if independent external pressure is brought to bear.”
He also said “...fixing the RCMP and addressing the negative culture that has taken root will take an immense effort and require the good will of its leaders and members. Most of these individuals are invested in the status quo and will not likely want to make the necessary changes to eradicate this toxic culture.” .
That's quite an indictment, I would suggest, Minister. What I would like you to tell us is whether you are committed to eradicating this so-called toxic culture. Are you prepared to provide the external pressure that is required, according to Justice Bastarache, to see that it happens?
Thank you, Minister and all our witnesses, for being here.
Minister, last week Peel Regional Police joined forces with services across the greater Toronto area, successfully completing Project Siphon in a 14-month-long investigation resulting in numerous arrests and seizures of firearms, drugs and property. I believe over 1,800 charges were laid and 88 people arrested. I think many of the arrests were related to organized crime, firearms offences, shootings, and drug and human trafficking. I commend the Peel Regional Police for their outstanding work.
Minister, you know that in the greater Toronto area and in Brampton, unfortunately, we've heard and seen the tragic effects of gun violence too often. We know there is no simple solution. We need a comprehensive approach, including a combination of measures, such as investing in our youth and investing in our borders.
Through the main estimates and supplementaries, Minister, you're seeking an appropriation of $85 million. Do you have any update on programs to combat gun violence and smuggling in Canada, and how we're helping municipalities like Brampton dismantle street gangs and keep our communities safe?
:
Thank you very much, Kamal. I think this is the question of our time with gun violence in Brampton and in the city of Toronto.
First I'll take the opportunity to remind the committee that this government actually provided $327 million over five years to the provinces and territories to fund municipal police services across Canada. We provided $65 million to the Province of Ontario to fund police services such as the Peel Regional Police service in its guns and gangs investigations. Those monies clearly are being well spent and well invested by the Peel Regional Police service, and I join you in commending them for their dedication and their hard work and the success of their investigation.
However, we also know that just investing in law enforcement isn't enough. We've worked with the police community, and we are strengthening gun control laws to create new offences and new penalties to eliminate the ways in which criminals get guns. Many of them are smuggled across the border; some are stolen and others are criminally diverted. We'll be bringing forward legislation that will strongly deter all of those activities.
Most important, and as you highlighted in the second part of your question, we have to make investments in kids and in communities to change the social conditions that give rise to so many of these crimes of violence and create a demand for guns. I think the police are doing some extraordinary work, as is CBSA, to reduce the supply of guns, and we're going to help them do even better.
We also know we have to reduce the demand for guns in those communities, and that's why we have promised that we'll be bringing forward, in the very near future, initiatives to provide additional funding directly to communities through the municipalities for community organizations that work with kids to get them involved in after-school programs and job training programs, changing the social conditions in our communities that give rise to that violence. We believe it's important to invest in policing but also to invest in community. I believe that in the long term, it's those investments in our kids and in our communities that will have the greatest impact on public safety. They are worthy investments and investments that we are prepared to make.
:
Thank you very much, Ms. Damoff.
First of all, if I may, let me acknowledge that I think some of the comments made by people who work for the gun industry and the gun lobby have been reprehensible, misogynous and I think deeply offensive to the vast majority of Canadians. I wish some of the leaders of our other political parties would find the courage to denounce those activities, but allow me the opportunity to denounce them.
With respect to red flag laws, yes, Pam, we are working very hard to introduce legislation as quickly as possible that will introduce red flag laws. Red flag laws can have a very significant impact in three very important areas. The first is to deal with domestic and intimate partner violence. As you've said, the overwhelming majority of victims in domestic and intimate partner violence are women—eight out of 10—and when a firearm is present, that dangerous situation can become deadly. We want to empower women and those who support women in these dangerous circumstances to remove the danger of a firearm being present in those homes.
We also recognize and are strongly influenced and advised by Dr. Drummond and the medical community's work that 75% of all homicide deaths in this country are in fact self-inflicted. The gun lobby never wants to talk about that, but it's a reality in Canada today, so we are going to empower physicians, family and concerned citizens to be able to take action to remove firearms from those dangerous situations.
Finally, when people are online and they're spouting hate and advocating violence against women, religious minorities, ethnic minorities or any vulnerable population in this country, we have hate crime laws. They can be, in my experience, very challenging to enforce, but we need to have the tools to disarm those individuals before they can go out and engage in crimes of mass violence that have created so much tragedy in this country.
Yes, it's a priority for our government. We'll be bringing forward effective red flag legislation to ensure that Canadians have the tools they need to keep themselves safe.
Thank you to the panel for being here.
Thank you Minister. It's good to see you, as always.
I want to pick up from where Mr. Harris probably left off and acknowledge your commitments to addressing the issues of systemic racism within the different areas of the criminal justice system, including the RCMP.
Minister, one of the challenges I think we've faced is a lack of clarity from the RCMP and the commissioner in terms of where we're going with this. While legislative changes are an important element, the absence of a concrete plan by the RCMP leaves quite a few unanswered questions.
I'm wondering if we can get a commitment from Commissioner Lucki, as well as you, to having a constructive plan to address the systemic issues of racism and discrimination within the RCMP, as well as the timeline by which a plan can be tabled to this committee and a timeline to implement the said plan.
:
Thanks very much, Jack, and I think these are very important questions.
I work very closely with Dr. Zinger and I very sincerely value his observations and his advice in these regards. I also had the opportunity to work previously in another capacity with his predecessor, Dr. Sapers, and I think their work is invaluable and I very much support it.
I think it's also important that CSC responds appropriately to these recommendations, and it is my responsibility as the minister to ensure that the Correctional Service of Canada pays appropriate attention and responds in an appropriate way to the recommendations and observations made by Dr. Zinger. I believe that in my brief tenure in this office, the relationship between the correctional investigator, the Correctional Service of Canada and the public safety ministry has been very, very positive and productive. I believe that we'll continue to work collaboratively together.
If I may also respond to your earlier question with respect to staffing issues, the additional monies that are requested are staffing requirements for the implementation of Bill , the introduction and the full build-out of the SIUs across the country. It is a resource-intensive activity to ensure that those inmates receive the supports and services and the time in various functions and that there are people there to make sure that it happens. We're making those additional investments because it is part of our legal obligation to ensure that those SIUs are properly implemented.
If I may quickly reference the work of Dr. Doob, I think he identifies for us that there's a lot more to do.
Commissioner, when you were here last time, I asked you about the report on Colten Boushie. This weekend I'm interviewing his family as part of a panel that I'm doing.
When I asked you about the report last time, I wasn't aware that there are actually 149 interim reports awaiting a response until I read about it in a November 10, 2020, article. One report is more than four years old, 14 are three to four years, 44 are two to three years, 49 are one to two years, and 41 files are for less than a year.
As we've been looking at systemic racism in policing, I think probably one of the most important things we've heard is on accountability and consequences when there are things that go wrong, and Commissioner, these numbers are just unacceptable.
First, it's three and a half weeks until the end of fall. Will the Boushie family get the report released publicly before then? Second, what are you doing to deal with this backlog?
:
Thank you very much, Chair.
My question is again directed at Minister Blair. I'll be gentle with you this time, Bill.
The total dollar amount of your portfolio, both statutorily and voted upon, will be $10 to $10.7 billion, up $2.2 billion from 2015, but as you know, sir, since 2015, Canada has faced a growing opioid crisis, a growing number of shootings, a higher urban crime rate, a higher rural crime rate, a higher violent crime rate, growing court backlogs, fewer victims' rights, questions around the strengths of the correctional system, questions around the parole system, questions on police oversight and issues of foreign interference and foreign influence. There have been deep concerns raised by nearly every department under your watch, and more money, yet worse results. Clearly, your plan is failing.
Minister Blair, I have to tell you that I personally believe you're better than this. Do you intend to present a new, real plan that addresses public safety, or do you intend to continue down the current path with these failed results?
Commissioner Lucki, my next question is for you. My question is the same question I asked you the last time you were here, but we ran out of time to get an answer, so I'll try today.
There have been many calls for a reconstruction of the RCMP to remove contract policing. We have heard this from numerous witnesses, who said that the RCMP is too big and has too many roles, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to govern, and that the RCMP needs to get out of contract policing.
We certainly saw the shortcomings of contract policing just recently in the RCMP's failed approach to advancing indigenous reconciliation. In fact, we've seen quite the opposite.
Can you comment on whether you think the current RCMP contracting model is a good idea, considering your mandate to advance indigenous reconciliation, or should it be removed?
:
We're agreeable to that?
Is that sufficient for the formalities of reporting, Mr. Clerk? It is.
CANADA BORDER SERVICES AGENCY
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Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$1,822,908,053
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Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$177,772,983
(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)
CANADIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$598,034,351
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
CIVILIAN REVIEW AND COMPLAINTS COMMISSION FOR THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$9,284,989
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
CORRECTIONAL SERVICE OF CANADA
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Vote 1—Operating expenditures, grants and contributions..........$2,145,688,776
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Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$187,796,912
(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
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Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$143,921,366
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Vote 5—Grants and contributions..........$565,749,061
(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)
NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE REVIEW AGENCY SECRETARIAT
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$22,801,056
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
OFFICE OF THE CORRECTIONAL INVESTIGATOR OF CANADA
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$4,735,703
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$41,877,803
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE
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Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$2,610,780,627
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Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$249,275,558
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Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$195,339,283
(Votes 1, 5 and 10 agreed to on division)
ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE EXTERNAL REVIEW COMMITTEE
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$2,894,153
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
SECRETARIAT OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENTARIANS
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Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$3,331,078
(Vote 1 agreed to on division)
The Chair: The second vote is on the supplementary estimates. Shall I ask whether that is to move on division?