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Hon. Mona Fortier

Member of Parliament
Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council Member of the Board of Internal Economy Deputy government whip
Liberal

Ottawa—Vanier
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 68%
Expenses Last Quarter: $89,953.47

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Hon. Mona Fortier (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Nov/1/22 3:03:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Marc‑Aurèle‑Fortin for his important question and for his contribution to his community. I have good news. I am proud to announce that after a year of negotiations, the Government of Canada has reached an agreement in principle with the comptrollership group from the Association of Canadian Financial Officers. Thanks to the hard work and good-faith negotiations of both parties, this agreement is fair to employees and reasonable for taxpayers. I thank both parties for coming to a successful resolution.

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Context: House Hansard - 12 - Dec/7/21

Hon. Mona Fortier (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Dec/7/21 6:58:36 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we recognize that the implementation of the Phoenix pay system has had an impact directly, or even indirectly, on many current and former employees, and damages agreements have been reached with all bargaining agents to compensate employees for general damages and severe impacts caused by the pay system. Claims processes are in place for most of these agreements, and we are working closely with the Public Service Alliance of Canada to implement the remaining element of that agreement by the end of this year. We will continue to work very hard on this file.

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Context: House Hansard - 12 - Dec/7/21

Hon. Mona Fortier (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Dec/7/21 6:43:44 p.m.
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Madam Chair, today I am pleased to table the Supplementary Estimates (B), 2021-22. The ability to exercise oversight is one of the most important roles parliamentarians can play on behalf of our citizens. In fact, accountability is predicated on parliamentarians knowing how public funds are being spent, so they can hold the government to account for its actions, which is why our government will continue to make every effort to ensure that parliamentarians have access to accurate, timely and understandable information about government spending. The supplementary estimates are part of a wide array of reports that provide Canadians and parliamentarians with information about expenditure plans and results. Departmental plans, the financial review, the departmental results reports and the public accounts are just some of these reports. This information is also found in GC InfoBase, an interactive tool that provides a lot of data in a visual form. This tool contains the estimates and other data pertaining to finances, people and federal government results. The publication of the estimates data set with digital tools is essential to providing parliamentarians and Canadians with more information about the allocation and investment of public funds. I would now like to turn to the supplementary estimates in more detail. The supplementary estimates present information to Parliament on spending that was either not ready for inclusion in the main estimates or has since been refined to account for new developments in programs and services. With the supplementary estimates (B) for 2021-22, the government is seeking Parliament's approval of funding to address matters of importance to Canadians. This includes the government's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as infrastructure and services to address the specific needs of indigenous communities. The health, safety and well-being of all Canadians are of the utmost importance to the government, which is why approximately $1.2 billion of proposed bonus spending is for the government's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadians care about each other and they also care about those less fortunate outside our borders. That is why budget 2021 announced funding to help some of the world's poorest countries access the tools they need to help contain the spread of COVID-19. In these supplementary estimates, the government is requesting $375 million to follow through with the commitment to support developing countries' access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostic products. I mentioned that these supplementary estimates seek Parliament's approval of funds to respond to the needs of indigenous communities. I would like to draw your attention to some of the main voted items. The 2020-21 budget provided funds for the government to accelerate efforts to close the infrastructure gaps in indigenous communities, which will help create good jobs and build indigenous communities that will be healthier, safer and more prosperous in the long term. These supplementary estimates fulfill that commitment with $725.2 million to support the construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of housing, schools, health care facilities, water and waste-water systems and other community infrastructure. This funding will also support the transfer of infrastructure to indigenous-led organizations and will fund the operation and maintenance of indigenous-owned infrastructure. These estimates also seek $412.2 million for the specific claims settlement fund, which provides compensation to first nations in accordance with negotiated agreements, as well as $361.3 million to fund prevention and protection services to support the safety and well-being of first nations children and families living on reserve. To ensure indigenous people can access high-quality health care, budget 2021 announced several measures, including one in these estimates of $332.4 million to ensure continued high-quality care through the non-insured health benefits program. This program supports first nations and Inuit people with medically necessary services that are not otherwise covered, such as mental health services, medical travel, medications and more. Another budget initiative that is presented in these estimates is funding to help people on reserve, and status Indians in Yukon, transition from income assistance to employment and education. Specifically, $308.7 million is sought to assist eligible individuals and families with basic or special needs, case management and pre-employment measures designed to increase self-reliance, improve life skills and promote greater attachment to the workforce. In Canada, we are lucky to have Canadian Forces personnel to defend Canada and its interests and to step in during times of crisis, be it the devastating floods in British Columbia or a pandemic. The supplementary estimates request $327.7 million for a salary increase for Canadian Armed Forces personnel in accordance with the settlement of collective bargaining for the core public administration. The funds will also support the restructuring of pay and allowances for certain occupations within the armed forces, as well as the extension of the allowance paid to personnel deployed to support Canadians during the COVID‑19 pandemic. I would like to draw the attention of the House to the part of the supplementary estimates that relates to my department, although a very small amount of those funds are for the Treasury Board Secretariat itself. As part of the compensation adjustments vote, we are asking Parliament to approve $1.5 billion. These funds will be used to compensate organizations affected by wage adjustments resulting from recently negotiated collective agreements and other changes to terms and conditions of employment. It will also compensate employees for damages related to the Phoenix payroll system and for delays in the extended implementation of collective agreements in the 2018 round of collective bargaining. That concludes my presentation of some of the major voted items in these supplementary estimates, and I am pleased to report that parliamentarians have online access to even more detailed information than I have had time to present today. We will continue to make that information available because of our belief in Canadians' right to know where public funds are going and how they will be invested on their behalf.

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SoVote

Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council Member of the Board of Internal Economy Deputy government whip

Hon. Mona Fortier