Debates of April 17th, 2024

Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—Mr. Kristian Firth at Bar of House

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I thank the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle and I thank the member for South Surrey—White Rock for raising these points.

I would like to emphasize to all members the importance of how we conduct ourselves. Canadians are clearly watching this historic event, and they would expect us to conduct ourselves in a way that befits the occasion.

With that in mind, I invite the hon. government House leader to finish his remarks.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, indeed you pointed out in your remarks earlier just how unprecedented this is. We supported this initiative, but we regret that it has come to this. When we received the information that all parties were privy to, we made the responsible decision. What you, Mr. Speaker, have just seen across the aisle is the very confirmation of what I have been saying.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I will take it then that we can move on to the next series of questions.

The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

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

Mr. Speaker, ArriveCAN was supposed to cost taxpayers $80,000, but the NDP-Liberal government rewarded consultants and insiders, who got rich on taxpayer dollars for an app that nobody wanted. The app erroneously forced more than 10,000 people into house arrest. It did not work, and the Auditor General said it cost at least $60 million. ArriveCAN is now under 13 federal investigations. Two middlemen who do no IT work got rich in a corrupt system under the NDP-Liberal government. Some, including the witness today, became multi-millionaires.

GC Strategies is a two-person company, and it claims to find people who actually do the work by using LinkedIn. Nearly $20 million for ArriveCan is what the company was paid, roughly $2,500 per hour. The people have been paid $100 million since forming GC Strategies just after the Liberal Prime Minister was elected. This is eight years under the Liberal Prime Minister.

The Liberal government has been ordered to collect and recoup all funds paid to ArriveCAN contractors and subcontractors who did no work on the ArriveCAN app. Has the government asked Mr. Firth to repay the money paid to GC Strategies on ArriveCAN?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, no, they have not.

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

Mr. Speaker, the procurement watchdog found “numerous examples where [GC Strategies] had simply copied and pasted” information to prove the people GC Strategies found to do work on ArriveCAN actually did it.

Has the government asked GC Strategies to repay the money paid to GC Strategies for ArriveCAN?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, when we did our assessments, we found that the numbers provided by the ombudsman from public works were inaccurate. We have not been asked to pay any money back.

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

Mr. Speaker, for how many contracts did GC Strategies copy and paste the exact same information?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, we have never copied and pasted to win any contract.

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

Mr. Speaker, we know from committee testimony that Mr. Firth has admitted to doing exactly that. Today, media reports that Mr. Firth's property was raided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

What crime are they investigating?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, that is correct. There was a search warrant, not an arrest warrant, for my property to obtain electronic goods surrounding the Botler allegations.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have also confirmed that GC Strategies and ArriveCAN are under police investigation.

Has the RCMP contacted Mr. Firth about allegations related specifically to the Prime Minister's $60-million arrive scam?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP has only reached out to us regarding Botler.

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

Mr. Speaker, in the search of Mr. Firth's home, did the RCMP take only electronic devices, or were there documents, cellphones or any other information?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, I was not at my premises when the search was being done, so I cannot comment on that. I do not have that information.

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

Mr. Speaker, does Mr. Firth know if the property of his partner, Darren Anthony, has been searched by the RCMP?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, as of this morning, it had not.

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

Mr. Speaker, GC Strategies is two guys in a basement taking 30% commissions on multi-million dollar contracts that they add no value to, but they have endorsements from senior NDP-Liberal government officials.

On the endorsements, who was the Government of Canada chief information officer who offered a quote?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Mr. Firth, do you need time to consult with your counsel?

[Kristian Firth]

Mr. Speaker, yes, please.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The clock is stopped.

Could the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes please repeat the question?

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

Mr. Speaker, GC Strategies is two guys in a basement taking 30% commissions on multi-million dollar contracts that they add no value to, but they have endorsements from senior NDP-Liberal government officials. On—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby is rising on a point of order.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate the official opposition approaching this with some dignity. There is no NDP-Liberal government, so I expect he would ask his questions in the appropriate form, please.