Thank you for the question.
I wouldn't say why this bill might not be good, but I would make a couple of observations. Bob and I have talked about this. I don't have the answer, but you may want to consider a dollar limit because hundreds of thousands of contracts are let every year. Does this apply to very small maintenance contracts when a fellow with a pickup truck and a tool belt is coming in to do the job?
I would observe the 15 days within the end of the fiscal year. Those are calendar days, so that's about 11 working days. I don't see the need for that urgency because frankly, understanding government, that report preparation would start in January. You're not really getting the full fiscal year's view.
Plus, the way the government funding cycle works, a lot of work is done right up until March 31. You have a PAYE, pay at year end, system in the federal government that allows that work to be done and then paid after March 31, as long as the work was executed. You would have this lag time between the work being completed and being able to be assessed. I'm not sure of the reason for the 15 days. I don't know that it's that urgent, rather than getting a complete report; sometime later might be beneficial.
My last observation is, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement is not the only minister who lets contracts of this nature in the government. Many other ministers have delegated authorities for this kind of work. To think the Minister of PSPC would be able to pull a full report together for the government would be misleading because many of the others have significant levels of authority.