Evidence of meeting #55 for Public Accounts in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was contracts.
A recording is available from Parliament.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Thank you.
Mr. Smith, just continuing with you, can you tell us where you work now?
6 p.m.
Conservative
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
And is that the same individual who was also a Liberal candidate in the last election?
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Okay.
I have a couple of other questions. Actually, I want to go to Mr. Brazeau for a second.
You danced around an issue earlier too, and we find that maybe with yes-or-no questions we get a little more success.
Did you score the bids?
6 p.m.
Conservative
6 p.m.
Conservative
6 p.m.
As an Individual
I didn't design RFPs, no.
I wrote statements of work and prepared evaluation criteria, but there was another unit at Consulting and Audit Canada that prepared the RFPs.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
I find it interesting that with this one RFP there were evaluations that seemed sort of custom-made for Mr. Onischuk and obviously custom-made to pass work on to your cousin, talking about providing advice and guidance: 20 bonus points for someone who provided advice and guidance to the RCMP on procurement and contracting for professional services; 20 more bonus points awarded if this experience included statements of work related to compensation and/or pension in the Canadian federal government; 20 more bonus points awarded if this experience included evaluation criteria related to compensation and/or pension in the Canadian federal government.
It seems that the only thing you didn't have was 20 more bonus points if your name rhymed with “Mavid Skith”.
You knew who would win the bid, didn't you?
6 p.m.
As an Individual
No, I didn't. I'm not saying I prepared the evaluation criteria, and they were approved by a third party.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
It seems like it was your job to make sure that they won the bid. Mr. Smith, in his testimony, actually said that Mr. Onischuk called him and—I think this was the quote, but I may have a word or two missing—“told me he might have a contract for me”, that Mr. Onischuk actually called him and told him that he might have a contract for him.
My understanding was that it was really you who were supposed to be putting out RFPs. It shouldn't be Onischuk himself who comes up. Isn't that kind of backwards?
Mr. Smith, aren't you supposed to find contracts for them?
6 p.m.
As an Individual
Abotech was a company that placed resources. Mr. Onischuk contacted me to see if I would be interested in submitting his candidacy for, again, a possible contract coming at CAC. I told him to supply me with his résumé and that I would post it on the database of CAC and we would proceed through the normal process.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Mr. Brazeau, why did you send Mr. Onischuk to see Mr. Smith?
6 p.m.
As an Individual
I didn't just send Mr. Onischuk to see Mr. Smith; he was given a list of companies.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB
Mr. Onischuk was given a list of companies to go and see.
6 p.m.
Liberal
6 p.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Mr. Brazeau, you just said there was a list sent out. Would the purpose not be to circumvent the fact that this person couldn't get hired directly? So by providing a list, to me it suggests that you were in the game, that you were part of the process, that you knew they couldn't get hired through anybody else. If you gave him a list, then you would probably argue that you didn't care who ultimately got it, as long as the company that had this Onischuk in it was the one.
I just don't think that clarifies anything when you say you handed out a list.
6 p.m.
As an Individual
He was given a list of a couple of companies that he could contact.
Don't forget, we're a consulting shop. A lot of times we get phone calls, and people say, “Do you know someone who can develop a web application?” “Do you know someone who could do this?” People would call us.
6 p.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
But your department would also know the restrictions on people who would be hireable and those who aren't, wouldn't they?
6 p.m.
As an Individual
I don't know what you mean by your question. What restrictions?
