THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL FINANCE
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
OTTAWA, Wednesday, June 10, 2026
(53)
[English]
The Standing Senate Committee on National Finance met this day at 6:54 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 Cardozo, Carignan, P.C., Dalphond, Forest, Gignac, Hébert, MacAdam, Oudar and Ross (9).
Other senators present: The Honourable Senator Pupatello (1).
Participating in the meeting: André Léonard and Michaël Lambert-Racine, Analysts, Library of Parliament.
Pursuant to the orders of reference adopted by the Senate on Monday, March 9, 2026 and Tuesday, June 2, 2026, respectively, the committee continued its examination of the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, with the exception of Library of Parliament Vote 1, and of the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027.
WITNESSES:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency:
Debbie Beresford-Green, Vice-President, Food Safety and Science.
Health Canada:
Ryan Higgs, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer;
Kendal Weber, Assistant Deputy Minister, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch;
Daniel MacDonald, Director General, Office of Pharmaceuticals Management Strategies, Health Policy Branch.
Public Health Agency of Canada:
Michael Collins, Vice-President, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch;
Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, Vice-President, Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Programs Branch;
Rod Greenough, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Management Branch.
VIA Rail Canada:
Carl Delisle, Chief Financial and Technology Officer.
Transport Canada:
Serge Bijimine, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy;
Jaime Caceres, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister, Financial Management Services;
Lola Paulin, Deputy Chief Financial Officer;
Nicholas Robinson, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security.
Debbie Beresford-Green, Ryan Higgs and Rod Greenough each made a statement and, together with Daniel MacDonald, Michael Collins, Dr. Natasha Crowcroft and Kendal Weber, answered questions.
At 7:57 p.m., the committee suspended.
At 8:03 p.m., the committee resumed.
Carl Delisle and Jaime Caceres each made a statement and, together with Serge Bijimine, Lola Paulin and Nicholas Robinson, answered questions.
At 8:53 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.
ATTEST:
Sara Gajic
Clerk of the Committee