Yes.
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.
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.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Okay.
The Globe and Mail was able to get access to an email you sent, though, on January 26, 2021. In that email, you talked explicitly about budgeting. You said:
CBSA were pissed at the overall pricing and threatened to pull the contract.
You also said:
Your cost, plus 15% for me and 20% for Coradix etc, it rose to close to $500k! I was not prepared to slow the process down and stop our first client from purchasing so I removed myself from the equation completely and gave them a 15% discount.
Attached is a contract that shows...
You're sending emails that provide explicit budgeting information. Given that we have now put that email on the record, would you be prepared to admit that what you told the committee on October 20 regarding budgeting was, in fact, also a lie?
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
I'm sorry, no. This was about ArriveCAN. It was a specific question asked about ArriveCAN: “Are you responsible for contracting or budgeting on ArriveCAN?” The answer is not at all.
I was not even responsible for this response here or anything to do with budget control. I removed myself from the deal. Giving the Crown a discount is not budget control—
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
That is our time, gentlemen.
Mrs. Atwin, go ahead, please, for five minutes.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Firth, the federal government has various policies, regulations and directives to ensure that the procurement process is transparent and carried out with integrity. We're certainly here to make sure we continue to do this.
As a supplier, are you familiar with these policies?
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
In pursuing federal contracts, have you ever asked for clarity on the government's contracting rules by posing questions to a contracting officer or through another mechanism?
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
No. We have those integrities and provisions we have to sign whenever we are submitting an RFP. It enforces ethics and ensures that everything is done professionally and properly.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
The code of conduct for procurement “applies to all vendors and their sub-contractors who respond to bid solicitations and/or provide goods and services to Canada. In fulfilling the terms of their contracts, vendors and their sub-contractors are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.”
How have you demonstrated a duty of good faith and honest performance before and during any procurement process with the federal government that you have been a party to as a vendor or subcontractor?
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
I'm sorry. Can you repeat that, please? I can't hear you very well.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Sure. The code of conduct for procurement “applies to all vendors and their sub-contractors”. How have you demonstrated a duty of good faith and honest performance before and during any procurement process with the federal government that you have been a party to?
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
Sometimes, when we submit a bid, we also get a permission to bid from the resources. Typically, whenever there's an RFP that comes out that's competitive, a lot of our competitors will submit the same people. What we always try to enforce in our bids, when we can, is.... Typically, we'll submit a permission to bid to ensure that the resource knows they're being represented properly and correctly.
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
We didn't. They would already have been competitive. It was a contract that had already been awarded to Dalian and Coradix, so it wasn't a new contract.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
A Public Services and Procurement Canada official told Botler that this was a matter internal to Botler, GC Strategies, Dalian and Coradix. Do you agree with this assessment?
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
It's about the fact that the CBSA is investigating alleged misconduct, and they're saying that this is an internal matter between these entities. Do you agree with that?
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Then, in your view, what gaps does this reveal in the federal contracting process?
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
I don't think it reveals any. The reality is that it would have been a perfect execution if the four deliverables had been done on time and been of the standard the CBSA would have approved and paid. This was not a contracting issue. This was a performance issue.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
You also mentioned that your work through GC Strategies, engaging pathfinding services that you provide, all stays within the PSPC guidelines. Do you think anything should be changed regarding these guidelines after this experience?
5:10 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
Yes. Again, as I said, I tried to work with Botler so they could bill directly to the federal government.
My understanding is that these processes were put in place in 2003. They haven't really changed much until now.
I think there needs to be a better ability.... If they want to eliminate the middleman, as they're saying, or a vendor, then they should have the ability to invoice or go directly to some of these people who have the software and have the product. Unfortunately, at this point, that doesn't exist.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Botler AI was not a qualified vendor. What were they missing, based on your assessment? What criteria did they not meet to become a qualified vendor in their own right?
5:15 p.m.
Partner, GC Strategies
It's pretty arduous. You'd have to be in business for at least probably one to two years, build up your corporate references and get projects in the private sector or work through other people. At that point, your qualifications would get you on TBIPS, THS, ProServ and SBIPS. At that point, you're eligible and a qualified vendor to then go after competitive RFPs that are posted on Buyandsell or Ariba.