Evidence of meeting #34 for Public Accounts in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was need.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC
Mr. Chair, I would like to ask for clarification. Have you heard from the Minister of Finance and National Revenue regarding his participation, following our request?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Williamson
No, not yet, but we will ask him again.
I see that the bells are ringing. If everyone agrees, why don't we take five minutes for an update?
I need UC for this.
Mr. Osborne and Mr. McKinnon, is that okay?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Williamson
Yes. It's just for an update. We're not here to belabour this.
I will set my timer for five minutes.
Monsieur Lemire, why don't you give us an update?
We do have five minutes, so if you do want to yield time, Mr. Osborne, you need to take that into account.
You have five minutes, please.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In all honesty, I must report that the negotiations have not been successful. Although progress was made at the last minute and during the committee meeting, there are still issues that need to be discussed. At this point, I will respect the ongoing process, as we will return to this matter later.
Certainly, given the current context, especially when we consider what is happening in the House regarding Government Business No. 9, this is a cause for concern for those who want the government to demonstrate transparency when it comes to these IT service contracts. However, for now, I intend to continue negotiating these matters in good faith.
What matters most to me is that we have the documents we need to understand what happened. I believe it is in the best interest of Quebeckers and Canadians for the committee to have access to these documents. After all, there were massive cost overruns compared to what had been announced, and services that were never delivered.
What I can say at this point, since time is limited, is that I will provide you with an update on this very soon, Mr. Chair.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Williamson
Thank you very much.
Do you have any comments, Mr. Osborne? It's not necessary, but if you do, we're happy to hear from you. We have the floor for about another four minutes.
Liberal
Tom Osborne Liberal Cape Spear, NL
I agree. We'll get to the vote.
However, as Mr. Lemire has said, we're trying to give this a last-ditch effort. We'll see what happens between now and when we come back.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Williamson
I'm sure you've all heard through your whips' offices that we do have the time at 3:30. I'm going to have the meeting notice for 3:30. We're back in this room after question period. This meeting is adjourned until then, and it will be to deal with the Bloc motion.
Thank you. We'll see you after QP. This meeting is adjourned.
