Mr. Chair, this Liberal member is helpfully assisting me in precisely demonstrating the point I was making. She is saying that the minister is not actually involved in making any decisions that have relevance to the procurement process. Perhaps the title “Minister of Procurement” is purely decorative.
However, Mr. Chair, Canadians expect better. Canadians expect ministers to take responsibility for things that happen within their department. Of course, we understand that ministers aren't involved in every specific decision that happens within their department, but they're responsible for establishing the culture, setting the policy frameworks, giving broad direction and, certainly, insisting on remedial action when things are clearly starting to go off the rails, as was obviously happening for a long time in the case of the arrive scam scandal.
We've had four ministers of procurement in the last four years under these Liberals. I wonder if they should just formalize the process by designating a potted plant to be the fifth minister. A potted plant could receive briefings, could be present in the department, but would ostensibly have as much to do with actual procurement as the last four ministers have had.