Senator Gold: Concerning all these questions, I will ask the government and try to provide answers as quickly as possible.

[English]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I’m not in a position to verify that. I’ll have to make inquiries and report back.

Senator Gold: Yes.

[English]

Senator Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, we are almost two years into this pandemic and little progress has been made to expedite immigration applications.

Most of the department’s in-person offices remain closed and applicants report being unable to communicate with officers unless they hire an immigration consultant, which comes with a hefty fee.

Senator Gold, what measures have been implemented to modernize the IRCC so it can still function in a more virtual world?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. The government, as we know, has delivered on major income support measures that helped buffer the worst economic impacts of this pandemic with unprecedented speed.

With regard to protection against fraud, the CERB had front-end safeguards and back-end verification measures that allowed payments to be made quickly to workers while ensuring that cases of fraud or deliberate misrepresentations were identified. CRA and Service Canada have actively monitored and identified cases of fraud, and the government has announced multi-year funding to increase the capacity to detect, investigate and address cases of deliberate fraud.

As we move ahead in our economic recovery, the government will continue to work on post-payment verification and will be there to support Canadians.

In regard to some of your remaining questions, I will seek details from the government and report back to the chamber.

Senator Gold: I certainly will.

Senator Gold: Senator, I can provide you some answers now.

To date, the ESDC’s integrity measures have identified more than 30,000 cases of potential fraud requiring an immediate stoppage in pay and the start of integrity investigations. By successfully stopping these payments, approximately $319 million in potentially erroneous payments were avoided.

With regard to the breakdown in cases, I’ll have to inquire with the government. I’ll add them to my questions and will report back in due course.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you, senator, for your question and ongoing advocacy on this important topic. The government understands and agrees that a financially healthy agricultural sector is important for Canada’s economic well-being.

I have been informed that in response to the current challenges facing the sector — notably, impacts flowing from the pandemic — the government has committed programming to support agriculture. I note that the government has committed up to $550 million over the last year to support farmers in the fight against climate change. These include the Agricultural Climate Solutions, Agricultural Clean Technology Program and On-Farm Climate Action Fund program. I have been further advised that the current Canadian Agricultural Partnership provides significant support to the agriculture and agri-food sector, and the next policy framework for agriculture will build off the success of the partnership to help producers and processors address challenges and, importantly, seize the opportunities that lie before them.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question and for bringing up the unacceptable lack of drinking water in several places on Indigenous lands.

The government has already invested billions of dollars and is committed to continuing investing to ensure that First Nations have reliable water and wastewater infrastructure on reserve for the long term.

The government is also committed to fully funding operating and maintenance costs under the funding formula. It will strive to close any gap in this area.

I am told that the number of high-risk systems continues to decline and that more and more long-term drinking water advisories are being lifted. However, the government knows full well that there is still a lot of work to be done and is committed to addressing these unacceptable gaps.