Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals replaced the old DIPP with the new Technology Partnerships Canada in 1996, they promised to better manage and target industrial investment. However the record is: $140 million in funding announced before approvals were made; a repayment rate of 2.5% on almost $1 billion in outstanding loans; and 26 projects worth almost $400 million that were awarded secretly. That is hardly a record to be proud of.
How can the Deputy Prime Minister justify this program, which was supposed to end mismanagement, when in fact it has only made things worse?