Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I’m not sure where I should direct my question, but I suppose I could direct it to the Department of Public Works and Government Services, since it involves contracts.
You’ve been saying from the beginning that you hire externally, that contracts are awarded externally for specialized services, services that we do not offer. However, it has come to my attention, particularly on the Saint-Jean military base, that there were contracts for basic janitorial services, such as sweeping and cleaning the bathrooms.
Why can’t the department have its own employees for this type of work, which is neither specialized nor temporary? Mopping floors, scrubbing toilets and doing basic janitorial work are daily tasks. Why, then, did you go through procurement, and why aren’t you using internal resources? Again, these are not specialty or temporary services.
Furthermore, how do we ensure that companies, whether they’re retained for Defence or any other department, arrange the same benefits for their employees that the government offers its own public servants?