Evidence of meeting #99 for Public Accounts in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cbsa.
A video is available from Parliament.
President, Canada Border Services Agency
I'm telling you that the collaboration that you're referring to appears to have taken place and is absolutely inappropriate.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Would you describe that as rigging the process, though? It pretty clearly is, but I want to hear it from you. Would you describe that as rigging the process?
President, Canada Border Services Agency
Given the fact that there was one bidder and that bidder collaborated, I would agree that the odds were stacked in their favour. That being said, I don't have any information as to the motivation for that, so I can't speak to it. I wasn't at the agency when that happened.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
When did you first find out about that?
President, Canada Border Services Agency
I believe it was in the information that was part of the investigation, but I can't tell you exactly when I found out.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Okay. We'll circle back to that.
Paragraph 1.42 highlights inappropriate invitations and gifts from vendors. Did you ever receive or were you offered invitations or gifts from ArriveCAN vendors?
Conservative
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Did you ask anyone if the former president had?
Conservative
President, Canada Border Services Agency
I don't know.
I'm letting the investigation that's under way take its course. I am not stepping in front of it and I'm not carrying out my own investigation. I'm relying on my security team and investigators to follow up on these issues.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
I want to follow up on the issue of the internal investigation report. I think I know what is happening on the government end, in that the government has tried to invest a lot of focus on this internal investigation, but the internal investigation is not an independent process. We had the independent investigator here, who confirmed as much. He confirmed that his role involves reporting to, being subject to—in the general sense for his employment—people who may themselves be the subject of suspicion.
We've talked about rigged processes, and we have a situation where the investigation into the rigged process also looks rigged, insofar as the investigator is not independent and is subject, in their position, to decisions of their superiors within the department.
How can Canadians have any faith in a rigged investigation into a rigged process? Why not have an external, truly independent investigator?
President, Canada Border Services Agency
Mr. Chair, I'm not aware that I am under investigation.
The investigation is being carried out under my authority as a deputy head. In order to carry out my authority, I need an investigative arm. All of our departments have an investigative team.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
If, in the process of these inquiries, you or your predecessor or others in senior positions around you were to be subject to suspicion.... We know there's suspicion insofar as people have come before this committee and said that you've been dishonest to this committee. Surely, an investigator who is subject to your authority would be constrained in fully pursuing those allegations, wouldn't you agree?
President, Canada Border Services Agency
Mr. Chair, it's unclear why this is being made about me. I am not my predecessor. I am in this job now. I was not here when that happened—
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Well, Mr. MacDonald told this committee that you were not being honest and forthright. You might disagree with that, but that is an allegation against you that's serious—
Conservative
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
He thinks he's in government operations or something else.
