Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you to the minister for being present.
I agree that rules have to be followed. In the Auditor General's report, page 8, finding 1.33 reads as follows:
Given the urgency created by the pandemic, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat encouraged government organizations to focus on results while still demonstrating due diligence and controls on expenditures. To support this direction, the agency invoked exceptions so that certain procurements were not subject to the provisions of the trade agreements and the Government Contracts Regulations and allowed for the consideration of a non-competitive approach to address urgent needs.
There were rules in place. We had the government contracts regulations, which would have prescribed, for example, that the government could issue a non-competitive contract, which ultimately went to GC Strategies. That was part of how they were able to get access to the government service.
I also want to highlight how important this is. This isn't just a one-off; Canadians are used to seeing multiple corruption schemes like this, regardless of who is in power. Since 2006 we've seen a massive increase in outsourcing and vulnerabilities, as the Auditor General's report outlines. It's very clear that some rules and the exceptions for those rules were waived.
Minister, you were the Minister of Public Service and Procurement Canada at the time, for which these regulations were waived for the purpose of allowing non-competitive contracts.
Do you regret that now?