Debates of May 19th, 2022

Public Works and Government Services—Main Estimates, 2022-23

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, Cisco is not the only company in Canada that meets international Internet and other technology standards. We should break out of this cycle.

Shared Services Canada has requested an additional $60 million for its 2022-23 budget. What is the reason for this? How much of that will go to Cisco or to a company that resells Cisco products?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, when we are procuring these contracts, this is the amount we have set aside. We do not know yet who is going to be the successful bidder in that. When we are looking for successful bidders, we are always looking for those that are the most competitive, have the best value and are going to meet the needs that we have in order to ensure that we are getting the product that is going to best serve Canadians.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, what is being done to ensure that there is no dumping by any company to undercut the competition?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, in all aspects, we are doing everything we possibly can so that, at the end of the day, we are procuring in a responsible way that best serves the needs of Canadians.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, the government is paying a fortune for tenders that allow companies such as Cisco and Microsoft to secure a monopoly. Why should taxpayers be paying a fortune to line the pockets of foreign companies?

They are often the same ones. They are the ones with huge profit margins, not the resellers, which get 65% discounts on products in order to do business with the government. If there is open competition with other companies, it is an 85% discount. When a specific company is getting an exclusive contract, why does that company not offer the same discounts that it gives to its resellers?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, in many instances, there are Canadian subsidiaries to companies, so we need to look at that as well. At the end of the day, in terms of the procurement, we are always doing whatever we can to ensure that it is competitive, that it is fair, that it is open and that our procurement is responsible and going to fit the needs of Canadians in whatever product we are procuring.

I want to take this moment to thank procurement officials, officers and specialists who are working so hard in order to ensure that we get the very products that we need. COVID-19 is a perfect example. When we look at everything we have procured, the specialities these procurement officers provided are second to none, and I want to thank them.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, in August or September 2019, it was announced that the Davie shipyard had pre-qualified for the national shipbuilding strategy.

What is the current status of negotiations? What is holding them up?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, I want to assure my colleague that we are working very closely with Chantier Davie. We are working hand in hand, we have been, and we will continue to do so. We thank Davie. It is a strong and reliable partner, and we look forward to continuing to work with it.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, if things are going so well, when will the qualification be made official?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, the qualification will be made official when the qualifications have been met. We know there is a strong relationship there and we continue to work with Chantier Davie. The conversations are going very well.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, sometimes my memory plays tricks on me.

How many years did it take for Irving and Seaspan to qualify?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, we do not want to compromise the requirements. We want to work with Chantier Davie to get it to satisfy those requirements. That is exactly what we are doing.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, I do not think my question had anything to do with negotiations with Davie.

How many years did it take for Irving and Seaspan to qualify?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, I would like to thank Chantier Davie for its hard work on the national shipbuilding strategy. We have invested $2.1 billion with Chantier Davie, and we want to thank it for what it has produced in this regard.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, am I to understand that Seaspan and Irving did not have to wait for years?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, again, at the end of the day, when the requirements are satisfied, then we can move forward. That is exactly what these processes are about. We want to make sure the requirements are satisfied.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, IBM, the company that created the Phoenix system, was also approached about creating an electronic passport system.

How could the government approach that company when it knows what happened with Phoenix? How can the government ensure that the same disasters will not befall our highly confidential and private passport data?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, when we are working with companies, we recognize the challenges that can arise. Phoenix is a perfect example of that. We inherited that challenge, and we are working to fix it. We are committed to fixing it, and we are putting significant resources into it because every public servant should be paid on time.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, why was IBM approached about the electronic passport system?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, on the question the member is raising, if I have this right, it is a competitive process and it is with IRCC, which is the lead on that.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Chair, I am wondering if there are companies in Canada that are capable of computer programming and creating an effective hacker-proof system or if we should rely solely on the Americans.

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Madam Chair, in these procurement processes, we absolutely want to focus on domestic production and support domestic production and services. That is the route we take, and we are going to continue to take that route. My understanding is that there is expertise here.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Chair, has the minister heard of the expert task force on substance use?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Chair, in response to that, I would say that I appreciate the member's advocacy with respect to the opioid crisis that we are facing and I thank him for his work.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Chair, that sounds like a no. This is a group of experts who were convened by Health Canada to make recommendations to the government on federal drug policy. The expert task force had five key messages related to Canada's substance use strategy. One message was, “Bold actions are urgently needed, including...the expansion of safer supply.” I asked the minister at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, on April 29, what she would do to procure a safer supply of controlled substances to address the toxic drug crisis.

Has she taken any steps since then on this issue, such as reaching out to the Minister of Health or the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions?