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General item: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—May 29, 2023

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Opening statement

By: The Honourable Helena Jaczek
Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Public Services and Procurement Canada

Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates
Main Estimates 2023 to 2024

May 29, 2023

(Word count: approximately 900 words)

Good morning/afternoon,

Let me start by saying that I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg peoples.

Today, I’m joining you for this essential exercise, and would like to thank all the members of the committee for their dedicated work.

With me to discuss this year’s Main Estimates for both Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Shared Services Canada (SSC) are:

In order to support our activities, PSPC is requesting a net amount of $4.3 billion through the Main Estimates. This is a net decrease of $304 million from the previous year’s Main Estimates.

Mr. Chair, ensuring government procurement is fair, open and competitive is 1 of the cornerstones of our work at PSPC.

We serve Canadians each day by supplying the necessary goods and services to facilitate the daily operations of our government.

This includes fulfilling Canada’s Defence Policy commitments through purchases of top-of-the-line equipment for our members of the Canadian Armed Forces who play a crucial role in defending Canadians and supporting global security.

We will continue working with our partners to advance Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), which supports the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard, while at the same time revitalizing Canada’s shipbuilding industry. In addition to that, our NSS is creating jobs for hard-working Canadians and has contributed approximately 1.93 billion dollars annually to Canada’s gross domestic product between 2012 and 2022.

At the beginning of April, we were proud to sign a ground-breaking agreement between our government and Chantier Davie to introduce the Quebec shipyard as the third strategic partner under the NSS. This will allow us to begin negotiations to build multiple icebreakers.

Mr. Chair, as this committee knows, PSPC is also the steward of the government’s real property holdings, and as such we plan to spend $3.4 billion on property and infrastructure activities.

Much of that amount contain funds to maintain federal government buildings and bridges, for the benefit of all.

Among other things, this funding will allow us to advance important projects such as the rehabilitation of the historic Parliamentary Precinct, which includes the redevelopment of the block 2 redevelopment project and the ongoing renovation of the Centre Block, the most complex heritage rehabilitation project ever seen in the country.

These funds will also support greening government initiatives for federal property and infrastructure through the use of clean energy, and by reducing waste and greenhouse gases.

To date, the department has already realized a 54% reduction in greenhouse gases emissions, surpassing the 2016 to 2019 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy target of 40% by 2030. To tackle climate change, our government is committed to power federal buildings with 100% renewable electricity by 2025.

Mr. Chair, the Main Estimates also include $318.7 million for payments and accounting initiatives, which includes pay administration operations.

I will note that this request represents a decrease from the previous year as past funding to help stabilize pay and reduce the backlog of outstanding transactions has sunsetted.

Ensuring our federal employees are paid accurately and on time remains a top priority, and our government’s latest federal budget announced new funding to continue to support pay administration operations.

Mr. Chair, my portfolio also includes SSC, which plays a vital role in supporting government operations, and the digital delivery of programs and services to Canadians. They are committed to ongoing investments to provide modern, reliable and secure information technology infrastructure.

As shown in its Departmental Plan, SSC’s available funding for 2023 to 2024 will be $2.6 billion, excluding $853.0 million in revenue.

In response to the changing norms of the workplace, SSC is adapting Government of Canada networks to support the hybrid workplace model, combining remote and office work. Key network and security updates include improving bandwidth, implementing Wi-Fi services in buildings and using a zero-trust security model in order to facilitate the transition.

SSC is also working with small departments and agencies to provide services that will contribute to improving their cyber security postures.

With the approval of the 2023 to 2024 Main Estimates, we are seeking to decrease SSC’s reference levels by $26.9 million compared to last year’s Main Estimates.

The change in SSC reference level can be attributed to a combination of factors including:

Mr. Chair, the funding being requested in the Main Estimates for both departments will strengthen our ability to meet our obligations to Canadians.

I am now pleased to answer your questions.

Thank you.

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