Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time.
As a chartered professional accountant, now the proud representative of Yellowhead, I rise today to speak in opposition to the government's blatant mismanagement and disregard for taxpayer money, specifically relating to the shocking findings concerning GC Strategies and the ArriveCAN contracts.
The Auditor General's report revealed that GC Strategies, a contractor for the ArriveCAN app, was paid an astonishing $64 million by the Liberal government. However, in many cases, there was no proof that any work was even completed. This is not just a minor administrative hiccup; it is a fundamental failure of oversight, responsibility and transparency. It is a betrayal of Canadians' trust and abuse of public funds.
Accountability is non-negotiable. When public funds are wasted, taxpayers suffer. I spent 26 years as a chartered professional accountant ensuring that every dollar was tracked, justified and accounted for. Governments should be held to the same standard, if not a higher one. What we see here is a government that appears to have turned a blind eye to due diligence.
How could a contract that was originally supposed to be worth $80,000 turn into tens of millions of dollars being paid out without clear evidence of work being completed? It was done without proper security clearances and without going through the proper bidding processes. Where were the checks and balances?
The Auditor General's report paints a picture of complacency or worse, wilful neglect. Canadians deserve better. They deserve transparency, accountability and a government that can manage its own spending. The Liberal government has already proven itself incapable of that task.
The motion calls on the government to get taxpayers their money back within 100 days. I would argue it is just the first step. The government must commit not only to recovering these funds but also to continuing to conduct full and public audits of contracts awarded from today onward and going back during the pandemic. The misuse of funds here is not an isolated incident.
The motion also calls for a lifetime contracting ban on GC Strategies, its subsidiaries, its founders Kristian Firth and Darren Anthony, and all affiliated entities. I support this wholeheartedly. The government has an obligation to protect taxpayers from repeat offenders, entities and individuals who have proven themselves untrustworthy and have abused public funds.
A lifetime ban would send a strong message that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Moreover, it would protect contractors who operate and interact with our federal procurement system with integrity from being undercut by companies that engage in such reckless practices. Public contracting must be a level playing field built on trust, performance and accountability.
Throughout the speeches today, I have heard members from the other side consistently say they will implement previous recommendations for better rules to make processes more transparent and accountable. I see two problems with that. First, the Auditor General's recommendations have been around for a few years. What is taking the Liberals so long to implement the plan?
Second, the Auditor General states there do not need to be any new recommendations. The government seems to be taking that as it does not have to start something new to follow the recommendations. The problem is that there are rules, but the government is not following them. All the government has to do to avoid a scandal is simply follow the rules.
There should not have been any shortcuts to fast-track funds to Liberal insiders. It seems that the government did not follow its own rules when it came to GC Strategies. Is anyone in the Liberal government going to be responsible for its mismanagement? Is the reason for the lawsuit against GC Strategies that the government can deflect its responsibility?
As a CPA, I had to deal with the CRA on a weekly basis. Sometimes we had agents who were experienced and knew what they were doing. Often, we would get agents who were relatively new and inexperienced. Sometimes that was an issue, but most often, CRA staff were required to follow a checklist. If someone did not fill in the details required, they would not go any further.
Those staff would say we could not continue without checking all the boxes, or the CRA employees would say without proof of someone's expenses, those individuals were guilty of putting the onus on taxpayers. There should be no difference in the procurement process. Vendors should prove they have done the work.
As a new MP, I am learning I cannot ever make assumptions that the Liberal government and departments will follow the rules and the checklist. This is a bit hypocritical when it comes to the government demanding Canadians follow the rules and punishing them if they do not.
When it comes to the Liberal government, when it is caught doing things wrong there are no consequences. As an MP from Alberta, a province that often feels ignored or sidelined by federal decisions, I want to stress the gravity of the issue for my constituents.
Albertans are hard-working people. They pay their taxes diligently and often in greater amounts relative to the other provinces, only to see their money squandered by a government that lacks fiscal discipline. Over and over again, Albertans get the short end of the stick when it comes to federal funding. This only highlights the countless ways the Liberal government has, time and time again, irresponsibly wasted taxpayer money.
As a CPA, I saw first-hand how a business could be destroyed by poor fiscal management. The same principle should apply to the government. Tax dollars are not unlimited; they represent the hard work of Canadians. When funds are wasted, it means fewer resources for other areas, such as health care, infrastructure and education.
The Auditor General's findings are alarming and unacceptable. Taxpayers deserve to have their money returned swiftly and fully. It is unacceptable that it has not yet happened, and it needs to be a priority of the House.
This scandal underscores a much larger problem of the government's mismanagement and lack of accountability. When Canadians hear that millions of tax dollars have been handed out with no proof of work done, it confirms their opinions that governments waste their tax money. People begin to question whether their voices matter, whether their hard work is respected and whether their government truly serves them or just serves special interests.
Rebuilding that trust is a long and difficult process. It requires not only ensuring the money is returned and punishing those responsible but also changing the culture within government. It requires shifting away from complacency and secrecy to transparency, accountability and respect for the taxpayer.
As a new Conservative MP, I also want to emphasize the critical role Parliament must play going forward. Holding the government to account is not simply an opposition duty; it is a duty to every Canadian. It is our responsibility to shine a light on mismanagement and to ensure that public money is spent wisely and for public good. This means we must strengthen parliamentary committees, empower the Auditor General with better resources and more independence, and demand timely responses from ministers when failures are uncovered. This is not about political point scoring; it is about restoring integrity to our democratic institutions.
Lastly, I want to remind the House that the stakes for Alberta are especially high. Our province has been hit by economic uncertainty from energy sector challenges, inflation and cost of living pressures. Every dollar wasted by the federal government is a dollar that could be invested in Alberta's infrastructure, health care and programs to support Albertans. Albertans are watching, Canadians are watching, and they are demanding action. They want a government that respects their contributions and uses public funds responsibly. They want a government that confidently says where public funds were spent and on what. Canadians across the country demand and deserve responsible government and responsible spending.
The Auditor General's report regarding GC Strategies is a wake-up call. It exposes serious flaws in the ways that government contracts are awarded and managed that cost Canadians millions and undermine faith in public institutions. I stand with this motion because taxpayers deserve to be repaid. The Liberal government must implement strict measures, including a lifetime ban on those responsible, to prevent this from ever happening again. I urge all members of the House to support this motion and send a strong message that the waste and mismanagement must end now.
