Evidence of meeting #83 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 work.
A video is available from Parliament.
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
How is it possible to have the wrong versions of a resumé?
I'm trying to understand. When I make up my resumé, I don't get my own years of experience wrong. How could three or four versions have been out there? How do you explain that?
I don't understand it.
Partner, GC Strategies
Before I was in sales, I was a recruiter. You typically get the résumé submitted by the resource. There is no grid or evaluation matrix that matches 100% to the résumé you have in front of you. It might be missing some information on technology and other bits and pieces, so there is a second version that's created that would have all the details and information in there, which would be compliant.
At that point there are conversations back and forth to understand what is accurate and what is not, and what can be claimed and what cannot be. “Is this technology in this résumé or is it not?” It's a working document that goes back and forth.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
All right. Thank you. I find that extraordinary.
With respect to ArriveCan, from what I understand, you supervised the work. You can confirm or deny that. How many person-years were billed for the initial stage of ArriveCan?
Partner, GC Strategies
First of all, we don't supervise the work. As a prime contractor or prime vendor, you're responsible for nothing to do with project management and nothing to do with budget management.
I don't have the exact number, but if you were to take the 23 resources working on the project and times that by two years, that would give you the days or hours that were put toward it.
I think I remember from somebody's testimony that there were 8,200 days. If you were to divide that by just 16 resources, not the 23, that still returns less than two years' worth of work per resource.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
That equates to less than two years of work per resource, but in total, nearly 32 years of work were billed for the initial stage, so basically for ArriveCan's visuals.
Are my calculations wrong?
Partner, GC Strategies
It wasn't just the front end. There was accessibility, back-end integration and object character recognition. There was also backing it to the legacy systems.
For that we had 23 resources and one-time billing. That could have been for two years. If you did 23 or even 20 to 23 resources—for an approximation—for two years' worth of work, that would be the number that would have been presented for what was invoiced for doing that work.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
That's your time, Ms. Vignola.
Mr. Johns, go ahead for six minutes, please.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Mr. Firth, I'm just going to go back to the Globe and Mail story that stated that “Coradix had submitted forms to the agency about their [Botler] work experience without their knowledge or permission.”
It states, “Ms. Dutt said a two-month summer internship at Deloitte on her résumé was inflated in an invoicing points form to say she had 51 months of experience working for the accounting firm.”
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
I'm sorry. Let me just pause for a moment. I'll pause your time.
Apparently, we're having translation issues.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
I have to turn the volume all the way up to hear the interpreter, so as soon as they change interpreters, I'll get another audio shock.
I'd like to stop that from happening.
Conservative
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
As I said, Mr. Firth, Coradix had submitted forms to the agency about the Botler work experience. They stated that Ms. Dutt said a two-month summer internship at Deloitte was on her résumé and was inflated in an invoice points form to say she had 51 months of experience working for the accounting firm.
Did you make those changes?
Partner, GC Strategies
I have one quick question. Invoice points form—what does that mean?
NDP
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
They gave you their CV. They said they sent it to you only once. That is my understanding.
Is that true?
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Did you inflate it from a two-month summer internship to say that they had worked at Deloitte for 51 months?
Partner, GC Strategies
This was one of the versions that we talked about, and how we'd go back and forth with the resources to validate.
Partner, GC Strategies
This is, again, the wrong version. It was my mistake. I sent the wrong version.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
I'm asking you a question. You're under oath. Who did you go back and forth with?
Partner, GC Strategies
I didn't go back and forth with the resources. There was not time to do so. There was pressure from CBSA to get the résumés from Coradix. That flowed down to me, and in turn I made a mistake and sent the wrong résumés.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Botler supplied you with a résumé. It was changed. Who changed it?