Public Accounts

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee met to study housing and infrastructure programs, with testimony from Paul Halucha, Deputy Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities; Michelle Baron, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer; and Matt de Vlieger, Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy and Integration.

Paul Halucha acknowledged that insufficient water and wastewater infrastructure is a principal issue blocking housing development across Canada, noting that the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) aims to address this through direct delivery projects that have enabled approximately 191,000 potential units. He defended the creation of Build Canada Homes (BCH) as necessary to fill gaps left by CMHC, particularly in providing early capital and statutory authority to avoid annual lapses, and stated that BCH has signed memoranda of understanding with several provinces and territories. Halucha disagreed with suggestions that the department lacks coordination, arguing that Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) integrates housing and infrastructure policy as its core mandate, and he pushed back on claims of discrimination against Quebec by citing specific transit investments there.

Michelle Baron explained that the department has been shifting its ratio of employees to consultants from 50-50 to 60-40, relying on consultants mainly for research and information technology. She noted that the department has reduced approximately 190 full-time equivalent positions as part of broader expenditure cuts.

Matt de Vlieger highlighted that an arm's-length infrastructure council has produced a report assessing housing-enabling infrastructure barriers nationally and regionally, including the impact of development charges and construction costs on young homebuyers. He noted that the council's work drills into where the biggest barriers exist across the country.

The committee also debated a Bloc Québécois motion calling for a public and independent inquiry into cost overruns on IT contracts including Phoenix, ArriveCAN and Benefit Delivery Modernization. A Liberal amendment to remove Phoenix and ArriveCAN from the motion was defeated, and debate on the main motion was adjourned to a future meeting.