Debates of Feb. 12th, 2024

Public Services and Procurement

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is going to punish those responsible for the scandal. He should start with the Prime Minister himself. He should have had the courage to stand up and defend himself instead of hiding under a rock.

The ArriveCAN app, which was not needed, erroneously forced 10,000 people into quarantine, and 75% of the contractors selected did no work but bought whiskey for members of the Liberal government. Just like him, it is not worth the cost.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the Auditor General of Canada and welcome her recommendations as part of the audit of the ArriveCAN app.

Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented. Others will be implemented soon, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in future professional services contracts.

We are committed to continuing to ensure that our government awards contracts openly, transparently and responsibly.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, to deal with the crisis of doubling housing costs and two million people forced to go to food banks, the Prime Minister could have followed our common-sense plan to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. Instead, he blew over $60 million on an arrive scam app that we did not need, that did not work and that erroneously sent 10,000 people into quarantine, so that they lost income. All the while, the thing cost 750 times more than the Prime Minister promised.

Will he not stand up today and admit that the app is just like him? It is not worth the cost. It is not worth the corruption.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that the moment there were allegations around cost overruns or inappropriate contracting practices, the Canada Border Services Agency immediately began an internal audit and made the appropriate referrals to the appropriate authorities. We take the obligation of managing taxpayers' money very seriously. Under no circumstances would we condone what the Auditor General determined to be contracting practices that did not follow the rules, and anybody who did not follow them will be held to account.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if the minister wants to hold someone to account for the arrive scam, why not the one person who had the authority to create and stop the arrive scam? That is the Prime Minister of Canada. He is the government.

This was a government program we warned was not needed and would not work, and now we know it went 750 times over budget. Of the contractors, 75% did no work at all, but they did buy whiskey and other treats for the top Liberal government officials.

Again, will the Prime Minister not admit the app is just like him, not worth the cost and not worth the corruption?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from public safety said earlier, we would like to thank the Auditor General and welcome her recommendations on the ArriveCAN application. Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented. Some will be implemented soon, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in future professional services contracts. We are committed to continuing to ensure that contracts are delivered in a fair, efficient and transparent manner.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Prime Minister is hiding under a rock, refusing to stand up and explain himself after he blew $60 million on this arrive scam, while Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat or house themselves. This scam involved taking money that could have been used for border security, such as for scanning the 99% of shipping containers that go without any inspection and go out of our ports with stolen cars, not to mention other things that Canadians could have done with that money. Instead, it stuffed the pockets of 75% of the contractors who did no work.

Again, will the Prime Minister admit that the arrive scam is not worth the cost and not worth the corruption?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that the Leader of the Opposition would mention investing in border security, when his government cut 1,000 officers who did the exact kind of work that he is now pretending he wants to invest in. It eliminated 50% of the intelligence capacity in the Border Services Agency to work with local provincial police and the RCMP. We have no lessons to take in investing in border security from somebody who gutted the Border Services Agency.

Justice

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, not everything was perfect when Quebec introduced MAID. However, because people were suffering, we focused on the elements on which there was consensus. We wanted to move forward. That was the compassionate approach, and that is the approach that is missing today in Ottawa.

There is consensus in both Quebec and Canada. People suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's should be able to make advance requests. Why not move forward on that front, where there is consensus, instead of punting the issue of medical assistance in dying down the road until at least 2027?

Do patients deserve to be abandoned until 2027?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is a deeply personal and complex choice.

I have great respect for the crucial work Quebec has done on advance requests. Canada has only one Criminal Code, and for good reason. Canadians deserve consistent standards and clarity on what is criminal. There is no quick fix to safely allow an exception for Quebec on this issue. The conversation does not end here.

We are committed to working with Quebec to consider next steps.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by agreeing to this closure motion to push back medical assistance in dying until 2027, those three parties are abandoning those who are suffering. They refuse to listen to the consensus in Canada. They should listen to the consensus in Quebec. They can do that by creating an exemption for Quebec.

Quebec is ready. Quebeckers are ready. The National Assembly is unanimous: Quebeckers want advanced requests to be authorized. Even the Conservative members from Quebec agree. However, they are unable to convince Conservative Canadians. To the Conservatives, Quebec is not worth it.

Will they do it or not?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, from day one, we have been treating medical assistance in dying with care. We are trying to balance the autonomy and dignity of the individual with protecting vulnerable populations. We have adopted a prudent approach from day one.

We owe it to Canadians and Quebeckers to address these issues in a thoughtful way and to proceed with caution. We will do that.

Public Services and Procurement

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about garbage decisions. The Auditor General found that the Liberal government wasted almost $60 million on the ArriveCAN app, which no one uses and which does not even work. This is all at a time when Canadians are struggling to put food on the table and pay their rent or mortgage.

Why are the Liberals—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, I am going to ask you to please keep your comments to when you are asking questions, so I can hear the hon. members' questions and answers.

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Conservatives were upset that I forgot to mention their scandals with the Phoenix pay system and Deloitte. They also have their own scandals to worry about; I should have mentioned those as well.

However, let us talk about the garbage decisions of the Liberal government. The Auditor General found that the Liberals wasted $60 million on an app, the ArriveCAN app, that no one uses and that does not work. This is all at a time when Canadians are struggling with their groceries and their rent.

Why are the Liberals so obsessed with making rich consultants richer, and why are they so out of touch with where Canadians are at?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as we said earlier, we are grateful to the Auditor General for her report, which was important and timely. We have accepted all her recommendations. Some of them have already been implemented over the last few weeks. Some are being implemented.

We look forward to more opportunities to work with her, so that we can make our procurement system as transparent, equitable and fair as Canadians expect it to be.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

The Auditor General found that the Liberals wasted at least $60 million on a contract that our public service should have done. Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, and the out-of-touch Liberals are throwing taxpayers' money out the window.

Why are the Liberals so obsessed with making rich consultants richer?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the NDP leader for his question. We share his concerns about the need to manage taxpayers' money wisely.

The Auditor General identified circumstances that were entirely inappropriate. That is why the Canada Border Services Agency and the Department of Public Services and Procurement have taken the necessary steps to ensure that this type of situation never happens again.

We will always remain focused on managing Canadians' money properly.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's arrive scam app was supposed to cost taxpayers $80,000, but it was confirmed by the Auditor General that it in fact cost more than $60 million. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, we know that he is not worth the cost. He is definitely not worth the corruption.

This process was so corrupt that his favourite company of two guys in a basement, GC Strategies, got to write the contract for themselves, to the exclusion of everybody else. We know they did no IT work, and that has been confirmed, but they got $20 million for their trouble.

Will the Prime Minister just admit that he is lining the pockets of insiders at the expense of Canadians?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague repeats a series of allegations that are not borne out by the facts does not make them true. The facts are that the very moment that there were allegations of inappropriate contracting practices, an internal audit was begun by the president of the Canada Border Services Agency, and referrals were made to the appropriate authorities, including the RCMP.

Anybody who did not follow the contracting rules will be held to account. My friend knows that, and he should not ascribe a serious responsibility where it does not exist.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Canadians want and expect us to ascribe responsibility to the individual responsible, and that is the Prime Minister. This app was supposed to cost $80,000. It cost more than $60 million. It has been under RCMP investigation and investigation by the procurement ombud and the Auditor General, and the results so far are damning for the government. It has lined the pockets of insiders while Canadians are lined up at food banks. It is absolutely unacceptable that the cost overruns have seen $20 million go to a company that did absolutely no work on the app.

Why is the government putting its friends ahead while Canadians suffer?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as our public safety colleague said a few moments ago, it is completely unacceptable to spread misinformation and disinformation. What we do know is that during COVID-19, our borders, including the Canada-U.S. border, had to be shut down. A billion dollars in international trade was at stake. Nevertheless, what we heard from the Auditor General this morning was unacceptable. The task of collecting and managing information must be done properly within the Canadian public service.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's arrive scam app is not worth the cost or the corruption to Canadians. Today, the Auditor General informed us that the arrive scam app, which was supposed to cost $80,000, will now cost Canadians a minimum of $60 million. It gets worse. Due to documentation that the AG says was deleted or destroyed, it could be more than $60 million. She does not know who worked on the arrive scam app, if the work was fulfilled to requirements, or if it was even completed at all.

Why did the Prime Minister rig the process so that insiders get rich and taxpayers foot the bill?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, again, repeating the last part of my hon. friend's question does not make it true. What is true is that at the moment contracting practice irregularities were identified, the Border Services Agency took all of the steps appropriate to determine exactly what the facts were and to hold those responsible to account in case that is necessary.

The Auditor General identified a series of contracting practices that were not followed. The government does not condone that behaviour and has taken all the steps to make sure those circumstances do not repeat themselves.