Government Operations Committee on Nov. 9th, 2006

[Michael Fortier]

You can. I simply wanted to add that it won’t be necessary to send out a press release insinuating that I didn’t want to come, like Ms. Nash did. Be aware—and I say this openly—that I will always be available to come to see you. It is not necessary to issue a press release and cause a commotion. As far as I know, I have always accepted your invitations and I will continue to accept them as long as I am Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

[The Chair, Liberal, Diane Marleau]

Thank you, Mr. Fortier.

I turn the floor over to Ms. Nash for five minutes.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Fortier, it is difficult to be able to ask you questions because--and I'm saying this frankly--you're not in the House, so we do appreciate that you are here today.

I would like to say that because of the changes.... And I didn't just put out a press release; I got the support of this committee to get a motion passed. We would like to see you again, because I'm sure I'm not alone in having a number of larger questions about procurement and the direction of your ministry, which, as they evolve, we would like to be able to discuss with you.

And I do want to ask a question, but I want to finish with my line of questioning in my earlier few minutes, just to say that I find it really troubling that at a time when moneys are being cut from programs that are important to women, to people who are studying literacy programs, to the court challenges program, to arts programs, museums, etc., there is a contract for which, according to reports I have seen--and I haven't seen the original contract--the final implementation was almost fourteen times what it was when it was awarded. To see then the mismanagement of that contract because people were off supposedly attending meetings but didn't attend meetings--and we don't have a report of that investigation of their trip. We don't have a report of the actual contract for the $24 million. I find this troubling, given that this contract was designed to save the procurement process money.

You have answered questions here on this, and I would like to use the remainder of my time to ask you about the broader procurement strategy of your government, because I believe procurement is obviously important for Canadian business, large and small. It can stimulate business. There were concerns expressed here by others that perhaps there was going to be a greater consolidation of the contracts so that the large enterprises would disproportionately benefit, and perhaps some of those contracts then might increasingly go to companies south of the border or offshore. There were concerns about job loss. And obviously these contracts can stimulate the economy. They can also stimulate investment in green technology. You had briefly mentioned that before.

Maybe you can just tell us about how the changes, the reforms, you want to make to procurement policy will actually work with a broader strategy, what it will mean for jobs in Canada, and what it will mean for environmental progress.

[Michael Fortier]

If I may just address very quickly the onset...I would suggest that you go back to your press release because it did give the impression that I was not available. When we first met, I told you, you could call me anytime. We had a coffee. You never phoned me. I will always be available to meet with you, and I am making this statement today--

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

We could not get you to this committee until the end of the month, and frankly, we felt that the nature of the changes was such that we should have you here.

[Michael Fortier]

But your press release gave the impression that that I was ducking this committee. Although some people have issues with how I was appointed and perhaps how I am running this department, I will never duck this committee. I have too much respect for all of you, and I will always be available.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

We appreciate that you're here.

[Michael Fortier]

And I would like you to draft your press releases accordingly in the future, if that's possible.

That being said, I will say that with respect to the procurement transformation, what we are trying to achieve, which we've discussed already for the past two hours, is basically to recalibrate the way we interact with the suppliers to make it simpler for them to do business with us, and that obviously includes the smaller guys. I've explained how we're going to get there, but also at the same time compressing the number of standing offers we were managing concurrently. It's impossible to reap dividends when you're managing so many standing offers at the same time. You're buying 77 types of printers, 85 types of computers, and stuff is not compatible when you move it from building A to building B, so you need to collapse a lot of them and do it in a much smarter and streamlined fashion, which is what we're trying to do.

[The Chair, Liberal, Diane Marleau]

Thank you very much.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Five minutes goes very quickly.

[The Chair, Liberal, Diane Marleau]

Thank you, Mr. Minister, for appearing with your officials before us.

To everyone, I wish you a good week. I want to remind everyone that our next meeting is November 21. We are going to invite the Clerk of the Privy Council, if he can make himself available. We will be dealing with the supplementary estimates at that time.

Thank you very much. The meeting is over.