THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL FINANCE

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

OTTAWA, Wednesday, May 1, 2024
(100)

[English]

The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance met this day at 6:46 p.m., in room W110, 1 Wellington St., the chair, the Honourable Claude Carignan, P.C., presiding.

Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Carignan, P.C., Dalphond, Galvez, Gignac, Kingston, LaBoucane-Benson, Loffreda, MacAdam, Marshall, Moncion, Pate, Ross and Smith (13).

Other senators present: The Honourable Senator Oudar (1).

Participating in the meeting: Shaowei Pu and André Léonard, analysts, Library of Parliament.

Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the committee continued its examination of the expenditures set out in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, with the exception of Library of Parliament Vote 1.

WITNESSES:

Health Canada:

Serena Francis, Chief Financial Officer;

Jocelyne Voisin, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch;

Lynne René de Cotret, Assistant Deputy Minister, Oral Health Branch;

Jennifer Saxe, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Cannabis and Controlled Substances Branch.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada:

Darlene Bess, Chief Finances, Results and Delivery Officer;

Jake Kennedy, Director General;

Christopher Duschenes, Director General, Indigenous Institutions and Governance Modernization;

Mary-Luisa Kapelus, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Strategic Direction;

Martin Reiher, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister;

Georgina Lloyd, Assistant Deputy Minister, Northern Affairs.

Indigenous Services Canada:

Philippe Thompson, Chief Finances, Results and Delivery Officer;

Catherine Lappe, Assistant Deputy Minister, Child and Family Services Reform Sector (by videoconference);

Candice St-Aubin, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch;

Paula Hadden-Jokiel, Assistant Deputy Minister, Regional Operations;

Jessica Sultan, Director General, Lands and Economic Development;

Jonathan Allen, Senior Director, Education and Social Development Programs and Partnerships;

Nathalie Nepton, Director General, Education and Social Development Programs and Partnerships.

Employment and Social Development Canada:

Brian Leonard, Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer;

Catherine Adam, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Service Policy Branch;

Colette Kaminsky, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch;

Karen Hall, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Income Security and Social Development Branch;

Tammy Bélanger, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Benefits and Integrated Services;

Elisha Ram, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Income Security and Social Development;

Susan Ingram, Assistant Deputy Minister, Benefits Delivery Modernization;

Michael MacPhee, Assistant Deputy Minister, Temporary Foreign Worker Program;

Malcolm Saravanamuttoo, Director General, Citizen Services Branch.

Brian Leonard, Serena Francis, Darlene Bess and Philippe Thompson each made a statement and, together with Jennifer Saxe, Georgina Lloyd, Lynne René de Cotret, Paula Hadden-Jokiel, Jocelyne Voisin, Elisha Ram, Mary-Luisa Kapelus, Tammy Bélanger, Colette Kaminsky, Christopher Duschenes and Karen Hall, answered questions.

At 8:46 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.

ATTEST:

Mireille K. Aubé

Clerk of the Committee