Debates of June 10th, 2025

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the minister knows that it is working exactly as it should, because the Liberals do not know that about any of the work GC Strategies did. For $100 million, no deliverables can be proven, no security clearances were done, and the minister is talking about the company's not doing work in the future. That is fine, but what we want to know is about the work it did not do in the past that Canadians paid $100 million for.

Will the minister stand up and tell us when, what date, Canadians are getting their $100 million back?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Auditor General for her report. As I mentioned earlier, the office of supplier integrity rendered a decision last week making GC Strategies ineligible for future contracts from the Government of Canada.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals handed 20 million taxpayer dollars to GC Strategies for its arrive scam. This is for a company that did no work, whose office was raided by the RCMP and that is implicated in fraud.

Today we learned from the Auditor General that millions of dollars more went to GC Strategies without any proof that work was done. This is absolutely outrageous. When can taxpayers expect a refund?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Auditor General for her report. We have acted on all the recommendations she has made in previous reports as well those in internal audits. As I noted earlier, the office of supplier integrity last week made a decision to make GC Strategies ineligible for future contracts for a period of seven years.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Sturgeon River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General found no proof of work for a staggering 46% of contracts awarded to GC Strategies, and yet the Liberals consistently authorized payment.

Millions of taxpayer dollars went improperly out the door without any meaningful oversight, so who on the other side of the aisle is going to stand up, take responsibility and get taxpayers their money back?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, as I have noted, we have acted on all recommendations by the Auditor General in previous reports. I thank her for her work. We will always hold bad actors to account. As a matter of fact, last week, the office of supplier integrity made a decision to make GC Strategies ineligible for future contracts for a period of seven years. This is a process that is working as it should.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, $64.5 million is how much taxpayer money the Liberal government gifted its friends at the top arrive scam contractor, friends who are now under RCMP investigation, yet the Trudeau ministers responsible for the scandal, far from being held accountable, have actually been promoted to minister of U.S. trade, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Jobs.

My question for the Prime Minister is this: When will there be some actual accountability for the millions of dollars in fraud, and when will the hard-working men and women of this country get their money back?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear: Misconduct of any kind by suppliers is never acceptable, and we will always hold bad actors to account. As a matter of fact, the office of supplier integrity last week made a decision making GC Strategies ineligible for contracts for a period of seven years. We also terminated, in March 2024, all contracts with GC Strategies and revoked its security clearance. We will always hold bad actors to account.

Carbon Pricing

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec runs its own carbon pricing system that has been effective in reducing pollution.

Today, the Bloc Québécois is asking the federal government for a rebate, even though Quebec decided not to participate in the federal carbon pricing system. Essentially, the Bloc Québécois wants to have it both ways.

Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change tell the Bloc Québécois the truth?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the carbon pricing rebate has been around for many years.

Quebec has its own carbon pricing system and the federal fuel charge does not apply in Quebec. That is why Quebeckers did not receive the Canada carbon rebate. We respect Quebec and have been consistent on that. The Bloc Québécois should support our efforts to fight climate change and protect our environment instead of playing politics.

Public Services and Procurement

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General tabled a scathing report today on how the Liberals paid GC Strategies, which is now under RCMP investigation, $64 million. In 46% of the contracts reviewed, federal organizations had little to no evidence of receiving deliverables, yet government officials continued to pay.

Given that the ministers responsible have yet to get the money back from the fraudsters, how did they get promoted into the Prime Minister's cabinet?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Auditor General for her report and for a previous report she made on the matter. We have acted on all of her recommendations to increase accountability, transparency and data collection, and to clarify the rules, roles and responsibilities.

Let me be very clear that we will always hold bad actors to account. As a matter of fact, we have revoked the security clearance of GC Strategies. The office of supplier integrity has acted on GC Strategies.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, there has been $64 million in fraudulent spending on GC Strategies, and not a cent has been returned. Today's Auditor General reports have slammed the government. The F-35s are 50% over budget, up from $19 billion to nearly $30 billion, with more increases expected. Millions of dollars have been spent on transforming office space into housing, and no homes have been built.

Why, under the Liberal government, are Canadians spending so much and getting so little?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the office space my colleague mentioned, I want to thank the Auditor General. The government accepts all of her recommendations. That said, I would like to point out that, in her report, she notes that we are on track to meet our affordable housing targets. That is good news for Canadians.

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today's Auditor General reports show the true extent of Liberal incompetence and waste. Taxpayers are on the hook for $14 billion in F-35 fighter jet overruns, the arrive scam report confirms that a two-person firm received $64 million in contracts for little to no work, and zero dollars have been returned to the taxpayer.

What does the Prime Minister do? He promotes the very ministers responsible for these scandals into his own cabinet: the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade and the Minister of Jobs as well.

If the Prime Minister is rewarding the failed ministers, how can Canadians expect to receive a penny of the money back?

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, because the member mentioned the Canadian Armed Forces, I will say that the government is proud to champion the outstanding work of the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces. Last month, our forces were deployed on Operation Caribbe, where they successfully conducted seizures of more than 1,300 kilograms of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea. This month, our forces have been deployed across Canada on Operation Lentus to evacuate Canadians from dangerous wildfires, and that work continues in Sandy Lake today.

The contributions of our brave forces at home and around the world are simply and incredibly remarkable.

International Trade

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, right now trade diversification is top of mind for many of the small businesses in Scarborough—Agincourt and also for Canadians across the country. Our new Minister of International Trade has already met with counterparts and business partners in South America and Europe.

Can the Minister of International Trade tell us how he plans to diversify Canada's trade portfolio in the current geopolitical climate?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Scarborough—Agincourt for her tireless advocacy.

I have hit the ground running. A couple of weeks ago I was in Ecuador, meeting with regional leaders and marking the conclusion of a new trade agreement that is to come. Last week I was in Paris, meeting with a dozen trade ministers to talk trade and economic opportunities.

Canada has what the world needs. I will continue working with industry leaders to discuss opportunities around the Indo-Pacific, the European Union and many regions around the world. Trade diversification will help create jobs here at home and help build the fastest-growing economy in the G7.

Public Services and Procurement

[Matt Strauss, Conservative, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the arrive scam contractors made off with 64 million taxpayer dollars. Multiple software developers in Waterloo region have told me that a couple of them could have created the app over a weekend. The contractors did not write any code; their only job was to make sure the actual code writers had the proper security clearances, but today the Auditor General tells us that they did not manage to do even that.

Meanwhile, the F-35 program is 50% over budget. That is $14 billion over budget, and we still do not have any jets.

Could the Prime Minister perhaps produce a budget accounting for all of this? Could that budget perhaps include less fraud and waste?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Minister of Government Transformation]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question, and I also thank the Auditor General for her work and for the recommendations in her previous reports, which we have acted on to ensure greater transparency and accountability from suppliers. We will always hold suppliers accountable for their actions.

In fact, in March 2024, my department revoked GC Strategies' security clearances and terminated all of its contracts. Last week, the Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance announced that GC Strategies will be ineligible to apply for contracts for seven years.

Government Priorities

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps saying that he cannot impose a pipeline without agreement from the provinces. The problem is that his Bill C-5 does not say that at all. It even says the opposite.

In fact, once a project is designated as being in the national interest, it is a done deal, and there is nothing the provinces, the first nations, Canadians or cities can do to stop it. This is going to happen no matter the cost, in two years at the most. It is a huge gift for the large corporations.

Why does the Prime Minister, who was elected to stop the Conservatives from winning, want to achieve Pierre Poilievre's wildest and most dangerous dreams?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade]

Mr. Speaker, a week ago, I was in Saskatoon with the Prime Minister and the provincial and territorial premiers, including the Premier of Quebec. All the provincial and territorial premiers talked about the need to build major projects across Canada, such as the Contrecœur port in Montreal. I talked about that project today with my Quebec counterpart, Minister Guilbault.

We must build Canada today. We must build it together.

Foreign Affairs

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were shocked to learn that the Indian prime minister, Prime Minister Modi, has been invited to the G7 meetings here. This is deeply troubling and hurtful for the Sikh community and for all Canadians who are concerned about human rights and foreign interference. Now we find out that the Saudi leader has also been invited.

Honestly, the G7 leaders' summit is becoming a showcase of tyrants. Will the Prime Minister rescind those invitations and make sure that the people coming to the G7 summit believe in human rights and believe in people, not profits?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and I have spoken with our Indian counterparts, and there has been an agreement for continued law enforcement dialogue.

The G7 leaders' summit is a critical forum for global leaders to have productive and frank discussions. The RCMP's independent investigation is ongoing. In this country, the rule of law will never be compromised. We will always stand up for the safety and security of Canadians.

The House resumed from June 9 consideration of the motion.