Evidence of meeting #109 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was company.
A video is available from Parliament.
March 14th, 2024 / 2:10 p.m.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
So, you can’t even tell us how many millions of dollars you’ve gotten since you’ve owned your company, money that came from Canadian taxpayers.
You were too greedy, and I think your business model makes it abundantly clear. You found a formula and you decided to overstep, so much so the Auditor General talked about it in the report you said you did not take the time to read. You should be ashamed for not giving answers to Canadians.
Are you ashamed that you cannot say how much money you took from Canadian taxpayers with your business model, which intended to collect money without doing any work, without having any technical knowledge?
2:10 p.m.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I have nothing further to say to this witness.
2:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Thank you, Mr. Berthold.
Next, I have someone from the Liberals, but I don't have the speaking order. I'm sorry. Who's up next?
Mr. Bains, do you have a point of order, sir?
2:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
You're going to go. Perfect. Thanks very much.
Go ahead, Mr. Bains.
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm just going to try to add some clarity to what I feel we've learned over the last little while here.
I asked Mr. Firth yesterday about this process of how the industry operates and how contracts are procured. You talked about working in 2005. He indicated that his earliest work with the government was in 2007. He said that the process has not changed since then, which surprised me, after hearing Mr. Berthold's question about whether anybody asked.
Do you also feel that the process has not changed since your time in 2005 until now?
2:15 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
The process, I believe, has been in place since 2003.
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
It started in 2003, before you even got there. You're ultimately playing within the rules that were set, and they have not changed since 2003.
2:15 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
They would have changed a small bit with regard to the number of vendors in certain.... Let's say it's a tier 1 RFP. At one point, there used to be five vendors invited; now it's a minimum of 15.
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
That could simply be because the scope of the work has increased, etc., and there's more work required at this time. Is that safe to say?
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
With you being a security officer, I'm just going to go through the steps. There's a security requirements checklist, and then there's document safeguarding and there's facility security. All of those steps are then signed off by whom?
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
2:15 p.m.
Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
It's a public official. It's somebody in the bureaucracy.
2:15 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
I think there's a team of people there. I have numerous names—