Politics This Morning: AG tabling reports on immigration applications, benefits programs

Good Thursday morning, Auditor General KAREN HOGAN will deliver five performance audits today, to be tabled in the House of Commons at approximately 10 a.m. Ottawa time. The reports will examine: Inclusion in the workplace for racialized employees at the Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Service of Canada, the Department of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Public Safety Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Whether the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada have adequately addressed antimicrobial resistance; Whether the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Shared Services Canada have effectively supported the modernization of information technology at other departments and agencies; How effectively Employment and Social Development Canada has implemented the benefits delivery modernization program for Old Age Security, the Canada Pension Plan, and Employment Insurance; and Whether Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada processed applications for permanent residence promptly and efficiently. Hogan and senior officials from her office will appear before the House Committee on Public Accounts at 10 a.m. to answer questions about these audits. Treasury Board President ANITA ANAND, Citizen’s Services Minister TERRY BEECH, Public Safety Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC, Health Minister MARK HOLLAND, and Immigration Minister MARC MILLER will hold a press conference on Parliament Hill at 1 p.m. to present the government’s responses to the auditor general’s findings. O’Regan to discuss review into lengthy contract disputes at ports Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has said both the unions and employers involved in this summer's shutdown of the Port of Vancouver 'have to acknowledge there’s a better way of going about this.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Labour Minister SEAMUS O'REGAN will provide an update today on a review he ordered into the labour dispute that shut down Canada’s busiest port for a month this summer. More than 30 port terminals—including the Port of Vancouver—were shut down for much of July while British Columbia port workers and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association tried to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement. The disruptions left cargo stranded on container ships and cost several industries billions of dollars in lost revenue. The workers eventually ratified a new deal on Aug. 4. O’Regan announced on Aug. 9 that he was ordering a review of what went wrong with the negotiations, telling The Tyee that day “both sides have to acknowledge there’s a better way of going about this than the way we just did.” He is scheduled to hold a press conference on Parliament Hill at 3:30 p.m. to provide an update on that review. Industry and veterans affairs ministers appearing at committee There is a full slate of committee meetings today, in the House and Senate: The Senate Fisheries and Oceans Committee will hear from Health Canada officials this morning as part of its study of seal populations. Essentially, whether the seals are eating Canada’s fisheries out of business. ROB STEWART, deputy minister for international trade at the Department of Foreign Affairs, will appear before the House Committee on Procedure and House Affairs this morning as part of the group's study into efforts by the Chinese government to intimidate Conservative MP MICHAEL CHONG and other MPs. After a brief respite, the House Finance Committee will resume its marathon pre-budget consultations this morning. Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE will appear before the Senate Banking Committee this morning as the committee continues its study of Bill C-42, the government bill to crack down on the use of shell companies for money laundering and tax evasion. The committee heard yesterday from advocates who support the creation of a federal registry that will collect information on the real owners of corporate entities. The Senate Social Affairs Committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. to continue its study of BILL C-35 ,the government’s childcare bill. Veterans Affairs Minister GINETTE PETITPAS-TAYLOR and senior officials from her department will brief the House Veterans Affairs Committee starting at 3:30 p.m. Privacy Commissioner PHILIPPE DUFRESNE will appear before the House Industry Committee this afternoon to assist the committee with its study of Bill C-27, the government’s effort to modernize Canada’s consumer privacy protection regime. The House Defence Committee will receive a briefing kicking off at 3:30 p.m. on the conflict between Israel and Hamas this afternoon from representatives of the RAND Corporation, the Atlantic Council, and the Brookings Institution. And Parliamentary Budget Officer YVES GIROUX will brief the House Committee on Government Operations and Estimates this afternoon. What else is happening today? Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez will make stops in Toronto and in Vancouver today to mark Small Business Week. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Small Business Minister RECHIE VALDEZ will visit Shopify’s Toronto office early this morning to participate in a fireside chat with the company’s president, HARLEY FINKELSTEIN. After that 8:15 a.m. ET stop, she will then hop on a plane to Vancouver, where she is scheduled to give speech at the West Coast Business Forum at 3:15 p.m. PT. Valdez is highlighting the government’s support for small businesses owned by Indigenous entrepreneurs and members of other under-represented communities. The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) will hold a press conference on Parliament Hill this morning to release a new report about sexual violence in Canada. The organization’s executive director, PAM HRICK, will be joined by the report’s authors and other experts to discuss failures within the criminal justice system and their call for “transformative and restorative approaches to sexual violence.” LINDITA NIKOLLA, the Speaker of Albania’s parliament, will meet with Senate Speaker RAYMONDE GAGNÉ just before noon today at the Senate building. JOHN HANNAFORD, the clerk of the Privy Council, will headline a lunch event at the offices of the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto. Hannaford took the top public service job on June 24 after previously serving as the deputy minister of natural resources and the deputy minister of international trade. Defence Minister BILL BLAIR will visit two Canadian Forces bases today. He will stop at CFB North Bay, in northern Ontario, in the morning to mark the completion of a new health centre. CFB North Bay is home to the Air Force's central wing, which is responsible for guarding Canadian and North American air sovereignty. Blair will then head to the Canadian Forces support base in Petawawa, Ont., in the afternoon to provide an update on new equipment for the Army. kphilipupillai@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: AG tabling reports on immigration applications, benefits programs

Plus, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan will provide an update on a review of the labour disruptions that shut down the Port of Vancouver for several weeks this summer.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: AG tabling reports on immigration applications, benefits programs

Plus, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan will provide an update on a review of the labour disruptions that shut down the Port of Vancouver for several weeks this summer.

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