I think we can get this wrapped up in under that, Mr. Chair.
On Friday I sent a letter to the procurement ombudsman on behalf of the NDP with respect to the ArriveCAN matter. As you are all aware, the House recently passed a motion recommending that the Auditor General conduct and prioritize a performance review of the app, something that we also pushed for here at the committee. I believe there are some elements of a review of the ArriveCAN app that would fall under the mandate of the procurement ombudsman, which includes assessing whether a department's acquisitions of goods and services are conducted in a fair, open and transparent manner.
Last July, the office conducted a procurement practice review of non-competitive contracts involving WE Charity, following requests by three members of Parliament. In the case of ArriveCAN, several sole-source contracts have been awarded. I believe it's in the public interest to determine whether the exemptions from holding competitions were met in those cases. I believe the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman has the expertise to look into this issue and could perhaps provide a more expedited answer than waiting on a possible Auditor General review on all aspects of the app. As such, I'm asking for the committee's support in recommending that the procurement ombudsman conduct a review.
Therefore, Mr. Chair, I'd like to move the following motion:
That the Committee recommend the Procurement Ombudsman assess whether contracts awarded by departments in relation to the ArriveCAN application were issued in a fair, open, and transparent manner, and whether contracts awarded on a noncompetitive basis were issued in compliance with the Financial Administration Act, its regulations, and applicable policies and procedures.
I did circulate this motion in both official languages, so everybody on the committee has it.
This is a pretty straightforward motion. I am hoping that the committee will support this request and this motion.
