THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL FINANCE

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

OTTAWA, Tuesday, April 25, 2023
(54)

[English]

The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance met this day at 9:01 a.m., in room W110, 1 Wellington St., the chair, the Honourable Percy Mockler, presiding.

Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Boehm, Bovey, Dagenais, Forest, Gignac, Loffreda, Marshall, Mockler, Pate, Smith and Yussuff (11).

Participating in the meeting: Tracy Amendola, Administrative Assistant, Committees Directorate; Shaowei Pu and Sylvain Fleury, analysts, Library of Parliament.

Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, the committee continued its examination of expenditures set out in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

WITNESSES:

VIA Rail Canada:

Marie-Claude Cardin, Chief Financial Officer;

Danielle Boisvert, Vice President and Corporate Controller;

Philippe Cannon, Senior Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations.

VIA High Frequency Rail Inc.:

Marc-Olivier Ranger, Corporate Secretary and interim Chief Executive Officer;

Tom Roberts, Chief Financial Officer.

Canadian Heritage:

David Dendooven, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs;

Éric Doiron, Chief Financial Officer;

Joëlle Montminy, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs;

Terence Stechysin, Director, Trade Negotiations and Investments.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:

James Burns, Senior Director, Policy and Outreach, Investment Review Division;

Jean-Philippe Lapointe, Director General, Business Development and Strategy, Strategic Innovation Fund.

Marie-Claude Cardin, Marc-Olivier Ranger, David Dendooven and James Burns each made a statement and, together with Jean-Philippe Lapointe, Joëlle Montminy and Danielle Boisvert, answered questions.

At 11:01 a.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.

ATTEST:

Mireille K. Aubé

Clerk of the Committee