Arianne Reza
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Opening remarks
It's—
Meeting 39 · May 5, 2026 · 15:44–17:25 (1h 41m)
45-13 witnesses · 203 interventions · 12,505 words
The committee was studying the 2026-2027 Main Estimates for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), Shared Services Canada, and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Appearing were Arianne Reza, Deputy Minister of PSPC; Scott Jones, President of Shared Services Canada; and Bill Matthews, Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, alongside Minister Joël Lightbound and Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali.
Arianne Reza noted that PSPC had referred a 10th case of suspected procurement fraud to the RCMP on April 16, 2026, involving overbilling, and that fraud detection is ongoing, with cases in flight. She acknowledged that fraud data is not included in the department's performance report due to fluctuations, but said the department is exploring better public accounting formats, disagreeing with a member who argued it should be a core performance metric.
Scott Jones emphasized that the framework for responsible AI use includes a policy to ensure decisions are free of bias and reproducible, a public AI registry for transparency, and running AI on sovereign Canadian infrastructure. He added that in-house expertise is being built to manage AI systems, working with Canadian companies to protect data.
Bill Matthews explained that the transition to the new Dayforce pay system will begin with three "vanguard departments" (PSPC, Shared Services Canada, and the Nuclear Safety Commission) after their backlogs are eliminated, learning from their experience before broader adoption. He also stated that the return-to-office policy aims for assigned seating to improve productivity, with executives starting five days a week and non-executives four days in July, though space constraints will take time to resolve.
Minister Lightbound reported that PSPC's budget is $5.9 billion (down $1.3 billion) and Shared Services Canada's is $2.36 billion (down $128.6 million), with savings from a comprehensive expenditure review of $642 million over four years. He highlighted the "Buy Canadian" policy, in effect since December 16, requiring Canadian content for contracts over $25 million, and noted that Alto projects are generally subject to it. He also stated that Canada Post's transformation plan will rely mostly on attrition for workforce reductions, and that proposed changes to allow mail searches for illicit substances respond to law enforcement requests, as warrants currently cannot intercept small parcels.
President Ali reported that the Main Estimates total $502.8 billion, up $15.9 billion, with $230.4 billion in voted spending and $300.5 billion in transfer payments. He said the comprehensive expenditure review will achieve savings of $9 billion in 2026-27, $10 billion in 2027-28, and $13 billion in 2028-29, reinvested in defence, infrastructure, and housing. He also noted a 46% reduction in management consultant spending in 2024-25, and defended the "Canada Strong" branding as non-partisan, stating rules are being followed.
The committee began by electing Jean-Paul Danko as first vice-chair.
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Arianne Reza
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Opening remarks
It's—
Scott Jones
President, Shared Services Canada
Opening remarks
Thank you, Minister. There are a few things I would add. There is a policy on the responsible and effective use of AI, but there are also a number of ways to make sure that it's free of bias and it's being used effectively, as well as that you can reproduce the decisions that are made and understand why it's making these decisions. All of that together gives a framework for this. There's also the transparency that comes with the AI registry, where we're using AI, how we're applying it. Also, there's running it on sovereign Canadian infrastructure so that, when it's making inference, it's done in Canadian data centres, on Canadian infrastructure, using Canadian technology. Therefore, we know how it's being done. Then there is the expertise that comes with understanding that; making sure that it's in-house, with public servants knowing how this is running; and working with Canadian companies.
Bill Matthews
Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat
Opening remarks
Mr. Chair, I just want to add a brief word to the comments made by the President of the Treasury Board. We want to build a more effective workforce based on the government's agenda and priorities. We'll get there with the people in the office and senior executives who will be there five days a week. To create a better work environment, it's better if employees have their own space to work. The teams prefer to work together while having an unshared office, desk, etc. The change we're making is that we're going to assigned seating, to the extent we can, so that teams can be together: Workforces are more productive that way. We have done some consultation. There are going to be some spaces across the public service, when there was not enough space to do that initially, and it will evolve. The objective is five days a week for executives, starting this week. That is no problem. Four days is the intention, starting in July, for non-executives. To the extent we can get to more assigned seating, we will do that. However, that will take some time, and it will vary by minister or by department because there was growth across the public service that was not supported by real property…