Evidence of meeting #56 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was process.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I have been working for the federal government for 23 years.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Very good.
You mentioned that you have worked in a number of government departments or agencies—I assume more than two or three.
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I have worked in three federal departments.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Okay.
As you said in response to one of my colleagues, you've seen sole-source contracts that come from a minister's office. Does your current department, Global Affairs Canada, award sole-source contracts, as well?
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Yes.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Normally, the department awards on average about 10,000 contracts per year, with a total value of about $300 million to $500 million.
I can't give you the exact proportion of sole-source contracts right now, but we can provide that information later.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
That data will be of interest to the committee if you can provide it.
I'm trying to figure out if we're talking about only a few dozen such contracts.
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
There are certainly more than 1,000 of the 10,000 total.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Do you check for conflicts of interest for public servants who recommend a sole-source supplier?
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
We don't do it in the contracting process.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
So there is no difference between the contracting process in the department and the one in the minister's office.
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Yes, the process is the same.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Has there ever been a time in your long career when you thought there was something wrong with a contract, and you mentioned it to your colleagues in the department?
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Yes, there have been situations where conflicts of interest were declared. In those cases, as I said earlier, we ask the contracting officer to exclude the person with the conflict of interest from the contract award decision-making process. This may apply to a direct manager requesting a sole-source contract, or a member of the evaluation committee for a request for proposal, who would then be removed from the committee.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Is the process the same for contracts that are requested by ministers' offices?
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Yes, it is the same process.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Did you identify any potential conflicts of interest when you evaluated this contract?
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
No.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
4:20 p.m.
Director General, National Accommodations, Domestic Procurement and Asset Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
That's right.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Greg Fergus Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Thank you.
Mr. Stewart, thank you again. I congratulate you on your long career in the public service, as well, and welcome you to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. I worked there over 25 years ago.
During the process of awarding this particular contract, did you see anything that you had not seen before in other departments during your long career? Were there any unusual problems?
February 7th, 2023 / 4:20 p.m.
Deputy Minister, International Trade, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
No, not really.
However, one thing I have observed that I think needs to be mentioned is that public servants who are involved in awarding contracts, and public servants in general, are required to undergo training on the application of the Financial Administration Act, particularly the famous sections 32 and 34. Section 32 prohibits the awarding of a contract without the necessary funds. Section 34 is designed to ensure that the contract has been fulfilled as intended. All public servants are required to take that training. However, staff in ministers' offices are not.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Thank you, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Fergus.
Mr. Villemure, you now have the floor for two and a half minutes.
4:25 p.m.
Bloc
René Villemure Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Pilon, I'd like to give you a little bit of advice: when there is a conflict of interest, even if the person leaves the room, their influence remains; you have to be careful about that kind of thing.
Mr. Stewart, as I understand it, there was no red flag, and no such process was put in place. Do you believe that putting such a process in place would be a good thing?