Madam Speaker, the member of Parliament for Laurentides has moved that the government table all contracts entered into by federal departments and agencies on a monthly basis.
According to the motion the purpose of this activity would be threefold: to keep taxpayers informed; to stimulate competitiveness; and to ensure government decisions are open and transparent. There is no doubt these are worthy goals. However, I would like to assure the member and the House that these concerns are already carefully and responsibly addressed by this government.
What the member is suggesting with this motion is the creation of another layer of bureaucracy. It would duplicate and overlap with currently existing services which disseminate the information being sought by the member. What the member and her party are calling for is a waste of taxpayers' money.
Obviously, administering the procurement process is an enormous task for the federal government. However, a number of systems enjoying an excellent cost effectiveness ratio are already in place at Public Works and Government Services Canada. These systems ensure that the Canadian public is served fairly and efficiently and is given unrestricted access to information concerning government procurement.
Therefore, there is no need to waste taxpayers' time, energy or money tabling reports on the procurement process, since this information is already available and readily accessible to the Canadian public.
The questions raised in the motion now before us for debate, namely access to information about contracts, competitiveness and the integrity of the procurement process, have and continue to be priorities of this government.
As one of the largest purchasers of goods and services and as a major administrator of real property holdings, Public Works and Government Services Canada ensures that basic information
enabling all companies in Canada to do business with the federal government is readily available to them.
One of the tools it uses is the Open Bidding Service. Also known as the OBS, this system is an electronic bulletin which posts information and provides everyone with an equal opportunity to bid on government procurement contracts. The OBS supplies information on contracts that will be opened shortly and on the documents businesses will need to have in order to submit bids. All Public Works and Government Services Canada construction or maintenance services contracts valued at $60,000 or more, as well as all other types of contracts of $25,000 or more are posted in the OBS. Each year, more than $5 billion in purchases are made through the OBS.
The OBS ensures that every person, regardless of where he or she lives in Canada, has access at the same time as everyone else to the same information and for the same price.
Public Works and Government Services Canada also publishes a printed journal entitled "Government Business Opportunities" which, like the OBS, lists all contract opportunities. This journal, which is published three times a week, also provides information as it becomes available.
This information is also available in the federal business bulletin and the R and D bulletin.
The federal business bulletin, which appears twice a week, gives a brief description of the contracts awarded across Canada. With about 100 editions of this publication produced every year, approximately 1,200 contracts awarded by the government are announced in this way. The document is available to anyone who asks to be put on the mailing list.
The R and D bulletin provides information on contracts in the science and technology field. On a monthly basis it provides up to date information on federally funded science and technology contracts that have been awarded.
In addition to providing information about contract opportunities with the federal government, OBS also gives advance notice of contracts to be awarded. These are notices of contracts that the government intends to award without tender, called sole source contracts. Advance notice is displayed in OBS to give companies an opportunity to challenge the government's decision to call on only one supplier. If another supplier proves that he can meet the requirements of a contract that is to be sole-sourced, a call for competitive bids will be issued. This is another effective way that the government uses to stimulate competition.
Besides providing all Canadians with information on opportunities to bid, the government also makes available to them information on contracts already awarded on a regular basis. Canadians thus have access to this information as soon as it is available, and not only once a month, as the hon. member proposes. The Open Bidding Service also offers a historic data base with which any Canadian can find out all competitive contracts announced since 1989.
Thus anyone in Canada can find out what companies obtained contracts by open bidding, for what good or service and when.
The Open Bidding Service was designed so that everyone could have easy access to information on current purchasing possibilities and on contracts already awarded by the government. This system meets all the requirements for access to information, competition and accountability.
Easy access to relevant and timely information is the key to ensuring the fairness and openness required for the purchasing process. Nevertheless, our government believes that suppliers must also have an appeal mechanism at their disposal if they think that the government has not kept its commitment to act fairly and openly.
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal is an independent body that gives suppliers quick recourse at low cost for contesting the awarding of contracts subject to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
If they win their case, they can receive compensation or be allowed to participate in a new bid. This is a mechanism to ensure the integrity and honesty of the purchasing process.
More generally, each department accounts for its activities and acquisitions to Parliament, and thus to suppliers, to the media and to all Canadians, through the Main Estimates and the Auditor General's Report, which are tabled annually.
The public sector is under constant scrutiny, Madam Speaker. Canadians demand not only that the government keep its expenditures and the cost of its services under control, but also that it show integrity.
With all the procedures already in place, there is no doubt that government contracting is open to all, that the process is equitable and that all related information is already available and accessible to all Canadians.
There are a number of problems with the motion before this House today. The mere fact of tabling in the House the information relating to all contracts awarded will not make this information more readily accessible to the Canadian public.
Up to date information on contracts awarded is currently available every day to any Canadian anywhere across Canada on the OBS. This information is very time sensitive for suppliers. With the information currently available and accessible, suppliers know right away whom to approach for example for subcontracting activities.
A monthly printout is not only a duplication of information already available but of very limited benefit to suppliers as it is only an historical record. The cost of producing monthly reports of this nature must also be taken into account. Given the volume of contracts let by the federal government every month this would be an extremely costly and time consuming activity. The tabling of monthly reports of contracts awarded is a duplication of efforts.
As the hon. member herself told this House, we must strive to eliminate duplication and overlap so as to reduce costs, save money and ensure efficiency.
This government is streamlining and eliminating waste. It is not the intention of this government to spend taxpayers' dollars reproducing reports which already exist and are an effective and proven means of accessing the same information.
On the very day that one Bloc member is calling for the reduction in duplication and overlap, another Bloc member is also calling for another layer which duplicates an existing program, creating once again administrative chaos. The Bloc cannot suck and blow at the same time.
This government's commitment to the integrity of the procurement process was made very clear with the recent release of new guidelines for public and open research and advertising contracts by the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. This announcement by the ministry clearly illustrates the commitment of the Prime Minister and this government to an open and fair process for the Canadian people.
Once again Canadians already have access to up to date information everywhere in Canada on the government procurement activities. Not only here is there no need for repackaging this information, but it would be a waste of effort and energy. The government strongly believes in the importance of the integrity of the procurement process. Canadians have the right to know how their government does business and who it does business with. They also require that their government not waste money.