Mr. Speaker, the issue at hand involves the way the government purchases removal services for removal and related services for government employees. We are debating it because a claim has been made by the hon. member for Waterloo that the government thwarted a competitive plan to save taxpayers' money.
Let us review some of the background. As the Minister of National Defence stated in the House on January 21, the former government received six bids to take over the management of
government moves. Of the six, only one was compliant and cost several million dollars more than the government option. The remaining five bids were non-compliant.
Only 10 days before the election, former ministers in the Conservative government directed two pilot projects without authorization, one with a firm whose costs were millions more than the governments and the other with a company whose bid was found to be non-compliant. In other words, this non-compliant company went through normal government procedures to get this business but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless just over one week before the election, Conservative ministers awarded this unsuccessful bidder a pilot project. This government immediately cancelled the authority to conduct the pilot project.
The government is committed to ensuring that the taxpayers of Canada get the greatest value for their dollar and we are continuing to examine all options that are available to save money.
One question that comes up is: Are carriers blocked from bidding? No, they are not. Potential bidders must meet certain criteria in order to qualify. The requirement for the fiscal year 1994-95 will call for local representation in at least seven provinces covering 55 per cent of the interdepartmental committee business to meet departmental location requirements. That is an improvement over the current requirement of 85 per cent in all provinces. This reduction in representation was done to further encourage competition.
The government is committed to seeking ways to save taxpayers' money. The minister understands the hon. member's concern and is devoting every attention to ensuring the best use of limited resources.