Debates of Feb. 16th, 2024

Public Services and Procurement

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

Madam Speaker, our colleague is quite right in pointing out the essential work of the Auditor General.

We need the Auditor General to do the kind of investigation that she was able to do over the past few months in co-operation with CBSA officials. She did her work. She tabled her report on Monday. Her findings are shocking and alarming. Her recommendations must be taken into account. Most of her recommendations have already been in place for a few weeks.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Auditor General's report is an endless chain of scandals.

That an app estimated to cost $80,000 should end up costing at least $60 million is already unacceptable. That the real cost will never be known because of missing documents makes it even more unacceptable. That GC Strategies was in a position to draft the call for proposals itself, to make sure it would win, makes it more unacceptable still.

However, that this two-person company, which delivers no services, has received at least 140 other contracts since 2010 is utterly outrageous.

When will an independent investigation into each of these contracts be launched?

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

Madam Speaker, the key word in the Auditor General's report is “documentation”. That documentation was flawed, incomplete, improperly stored and unsharable.

Indeed, it forms the central focus of the Auditor General's findings, and that is why we are continuing to move forward with the work that now needs to be done.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Madam Speaker, apparently the bookkeeping has been bad since 2010. Maybe this should have been addressed sooner.

The wasteful spending on ArriveCAN continued after the pandemic under the CBSA's new president. At least $12 million more was invested in contracts with consultants, just for ArriveCAN. Clearly there is still a complete lack of accountability at the CBSA today.

Will the government put the CBSA under third-party management?

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

Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague for the question.

Every day, the Canada Border Services Agency plays an essential role in facilitating and allowing the flow of hundreds of thousands of travellers and billions of dollars in goods.

This was even more important during the pandemic, when Canadians were relying on the arrival of vital drugs, personal protective equipment, and equipment parts that were absolutely essential for businesses, including in the opposition member's riding.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, the arrive scam app is just like the Prime Minister, not worth the cost and not worth the corruption.

The RCMP is investigating this $80,000 app which cost more than $60 million. The Auditor General said it will take a court order for the RCMP to get access to all the documents in this Liberal corruption.

Will the Prime Minister stop his cover-up, not make the police seek a court order, and hand over all the documents, voluntarily, to the police and to Parliament, so Canadians can learn the truth?

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

Madam Speaker, the member is correct when he points to the ability and expertise of the RCMP, the Auditor General and other institutions to work together. They know how to do their jobs.

They do not need political processes that politicians use to do their jobs. The RCMP, the Auditor General and all of the other independent organizations on which Canadians have the fortune to depend know what to do.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, the institution that is covering up is that Liberal cabinet and that Liberal minister. If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, why does the RCMP need a court order? Release the documents voluntarily. A government with nothing to hide would produce these documents for the police without a court order. The arrive scam app is not worth the cost and the Prime Minister is not worth the corruption.

Will the Prime Minister end this cover-up, release all the arrive scam documents voluntarily, stop the cover-up and turn it over to the police and Parliament, so Canadians can get the truth?

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

Madam Speaker, the member points to the work of the Auditor General. She has already said in public that she is not only able but very willing to work with the RCMP and any other institution in the government that would like to use her important findings on Monday. The member may want to speak to the Auditor General to understand how she does that. That is for him to decide, but we on this side of the House have full confidence in the ability of the Auditor General.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Madam Speaker, the revelations in the Auditor General's report on the arrive scam app are shocking, and after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, waste is at an all-time high. Canadians know that, just like the arrive scam app, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost and he is not worth the corruption. Unfortunately, the Auditor General was only able to scratch the surface of this costly corruption. Evidence is being withheld and maybe even destroyed.

It is time to send in the police.

When will the Prime Minister stop the cover-up and call for a complete investigation into the arrive scam fiasco?

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

Madam Speaker, again, I think no one in this House should attempt to display a lack of confidence in the ability of the Auditor General to do her job. I am sure we are all united in supporting the importance and the value of what she does. She needs no advice on the part of politicians. She has full expertise. If they want to provide her with their particular advice, they know how to reach out to her. Otherwise, we can help them connect to her.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I will remind the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets that he had an opportunity to ask questions. If he has other questions to ask, he should wait until the appropriate time and not interrupt the minister.

The hon. member for Sturgeon River—Parkland has the floor.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Madam Speaker, these Liberals keep making excuses, but extraordinary circumstances are no excuse for extraordinary corruption. After eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, Canadians know that the arrive scam app, just like the Prime Minister, is not worth the cost or the corruption.

If the Liberals had had their way, the Auditor General would not have even investigated this issue at all, and it is now clear to Canadians that these Liberals had at least 60 million reasons to stop this investigation. When will this NDP-Liberal government join us and call for a complete investigation so that Canadians can get the truth?

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

Madam Speaker, the member is totally right to point to how important the work the Auditor General does is every day. She and her office are fundamental to the operations of our democracy. They are there to help and sometimes to challenge the government in doing the right thing. That is why we are so grateful for her report on Monday. We have already said that we have taken into account all the recommendations she has provided, and many of them have already been in place for a few weeks now.

Grocery Industry

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Madam Speaker, Canadian seniors on fixed incomes are struggling very much to afford groceries in a difficult time. The government says it is talking tough with big grocers like Loblaws, but what has that led to? Loblaws is trying to cut a sweetheart deal with Manulife to screw seniors. Loblaws is getting in the way of the grocery code of conduct. Loblaws is getting rid of its discount of near-expired foods, only to replace it later after public outcry. The only thing the government has done is given Loblaws a slap on the wrist and $12 million for new fridges, so when is it going to get actually serious about doing something to lower grocery prices in Canada?

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Madam Speaker, we have been there for seniors from the get-go. One of the first things we did was reverse what the former prime minister, Stephen Harper, did on the world stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He raised that retirement age from 65 to 67, putting a lot of seniors into poverty. We have increased the GIS. We have increased the OAS. We have enhanced the CPP. Meanwhile, we do not know where the Conservatives stand on the CPP. The leader of the official opposition thinks that he could do better than the CPP board. It is just a shame.

Public Services and Procurement

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, the government has given 32 different contracts totalling $60 million to the same consultants, GC Strategies, for the useless ArriveCAN app. Liberals simply cannot keep themselves from helping themselves, while Canadians can barely pay the bills. At a time when we should be investing in the skills and knowledge of our public service, Liberals would rather hand over millions to private consultants.

Why is the Liberal government giving money to its rich friends instead of investing in the valuable work of our federal public service?

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

Madam Speaker, the member points to the valuable public service, and he is entirely right; public servants worked extremely hard during the pandemic to protect the health and safety of millions of Canadians and millions of jobs.

That being said, it is not an excuse for a very few of them in the CBSA not to have done their job appropriately. On Monday, the Auditor General was very clear as to why that was not done. We obviously took into account her recommendations. We have implemented many of them and will implement the others in days to come.

International Trade

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, Canada and the United States have one of the closest and most important relationships of any two nations in the world, and there are millions of Canadians, including countless constituents of mine, who work at businesses that rely on trade with the United States. Let us be frank: The economy and the quality of life of every single Canadian and every single one of my constituents in Etobicoke Centre depend on a strong economic and trading relationship between Canada and the U.S.

Could the Minister of International Trade share with Canadians how our team Canada engagement strategy will defend Canada's interest in and with the United States?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Madam Speaker, when President Biden addressed this chamber, he said that Canada and the United States could do good things. If we work together and if we stand together, we will rise together. That is the approach that the Minister of Innovation and I are taking with team Canada and our U.S. re-engagement strategy. I am looking forward to working with the member for Etobicoke Centre and am counting on his expertise.

The trade between Canada and the United States is really impactful to our economy, and I know that this work will continue.

Infrastructure

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Madam Speaker, the environment minister has left the highway of common sense and taken the off-ramp to Fantasy Island. He will say yes to spending $400 million to promote skateboarding to fight climate change, but no to a bridge whose closure has cut the village of Bolsover in half for three long years. In Parks Canada's own words, The bridge is of “national historic significance.”

Creating a longer commute will not save the environment, so when will the minister realize that roads will not pave themselves, and fund the bridge in Bolsover?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, yesterday I made the comment that the hon. colleague takes a non-partisan approach to issues, and he does, which is why I am surprised that he continues to maintain the approach he does today. He knows very well that the government has invested in over 8,500 bridge, road or highway projects across the country. We are proud that has happened, and it needs to continue.

However, directly to the member: Which of the almost 4,000 projects in Ontario is he against?

We will continue to fund these projects.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary knows that he is not to address members directly but through me.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the member opposite, but I do not think he should be telling the residents of Bolsover that they should not believe their lying eyes.

The bridge has been out for three long years. It was built in 1902. It is 42 metres long, is of national historic significance and is owned by Parks Canada. The minister said that no more roads and bridges will be funded by the federal government, and suddenly Parks Canada announces that the bridge will not be funded.

If the member opposite wants to prove me wrong, and I really hope he does, will the minister commit today to funding the Boundary Road swing bridge in Bolsover, yes or no?