Mr. Speaker, I would like to first take a moment to express my deepest condolences to all victims of the Air India tragedy. I want to notably offer my condolences to Dr. Patel, a member of our Mississauga community. To all those mourning this heartbreaking loss, our community grieves with them.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise in the House today to address the important motion put forward by the opposition.
First, I would like to echo the words of my colleagues here in the House that the government welcomes the Auditor General's findings in her report on professional services contracts and is committed to procuring professional services in a fair, open and transparent manner.
Let us be clear. This is not the first audit or investigation into the procurement of professional services, generally, or into GC Strategies, in particular. The government, and certainly the House, is well aware of the wholly unacceptable past issues that have been uncovered through these reports and investigations, and those bad actors have been held to account.
The latest report from the Auditor General addressed contracts awarded and payments made to GC Strategies and other companies incorporated by its co-founders. These contracts, which were awarded by numerous departments and agencies, did not provide value for money. That is not acceptable to all of us here who work to serve Canadians collectively.
I will note that the Auditor General's report did not make any new recommendations for the government when it comes to the procurement of professional services. The government is in complete agreement with the Auditor General when she encourages federal organizations to implement the recommendations from recent procurement audits.
Allow me to assure the House that, when these concerns were first discovered, this government took action to make sure unacceptable practices do not occur again. It put in place a number of measures to improve the oversight of federal procurement, including of professional services. The reason there are no new recommendations is because we have taken action, and continue to take action, to address earlier findings.
This motion is simply another round of political games by the opposition. Canadians elected our new government to move forward with an ambitious agenda, including tackling crime, strengthening the border and making life more affordable. I suggest that the opposition should also be focused on those things.
Moving on, the government is in agreement with the Auditor General that this is not about creating new rules and regulations, but about making sure that rules are followed and frameworks are adhered to so that we are providing the best value for money for Canadians. The rules are there. They must be followed. This government has taken action to make sure that happens. We are enhancing the evaluation requirements so that we can make sure the individuals who will be doing the work are properly qualified for the job. We know it is essential to have a clear line of sight on the work that is being done on behalf of hard-working Canadians to be sure we are getting the best value for money. That is why we now require suppliers to show greater transparency when it comes to their prices, as well as providing clear information on any subcontractors they may be using.
We are also improving our own documentation when awarding contracts and authorizing tasks. We are adding greater precision when specifying and documenting what needs to be done, as well as what projects and tasks contractors are working on.
As mentioned, the Auditor General took a close look at a number of contracts with GC Strategies. As my colleagues have stated, in March of last year, the company's security status was revoked, meaning it became ineligible for all federal procurement that had a security requirement. It was also removed from the Public Services and Procurement Canada's procurement instruments. Just last week, following a thorough assessment of the supplier's conduct, the office of supplier integrity and compliance deemed GC Strategies ineligible for any contracts or real property agreements with the Government of Canada for seven years. If the company were indeed convicted of fraud against the Crown in court, the company could lose its capacity to contract with it permanently.
When it comes to recovering funds that we have identified as fraudulent billing or overbilling, we are pursuing GC Strategies in court right now.
This new government will not let up when it comes to taking action to strengthen the integrity of the procurement process and making sure we are not conducting business with buyers of concern. It has a renewed focus on making government work better, and this work is very much part of that commitment.
It is essential that we make sure that the government is not only working more efficiently, but following the rules. Following the rules leads to efficiency, which means savings for Canadians. It means getting the very best value for money for Canadians.
More needs to be done to transform how government operates right across the board. That is why we have a new Minister of Government Transformation. To build the kind of Canada we need now, we must change the way we deliver for Canadians. This means not only improving productivity, but also focusing on maintaining service delivery standards. That will require us to look at new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to change the way we manage many of our processes.
Right now, the government is transforming and modernizing how the federal government procures professional services by streamlining and simplifying existing mandatory procurement mechanisms. This modernization is in lockstep with our commitment to integrity as the work includes reducing risks in our buying processes, improving how we manage contracts and doing more to promote solution-based procurement approaches that ensure we are getting the best value for Canadians.
We are continuing to improve the procurement system to make sure that errors such as those reported by the Auditor General cannot happen again. This new government is committed to delivering for Canadians. I implore the opposition to end the political games and focus on the mission at hand, which is to build Canada strong.