Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the fiduciary risk of enterprises and partners is assessed by the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, as part of rigorous due diligence in advance of project investment and funding decisions. Agency corporate data systems do not retain information on enterprises or partners that received direct or indirect funding and have subsequently declared bankruptcy. A complete response would require additional time to compile the information requested, following a review of individual projects.
With regard to (b), the agency does not gather third party information related to enterprises’ agreements with their subcontractors, consultants or employees. The agency takes considerable care not to interfere in the commercial dealings between enterprises and their subcontractors, consultants or employees in order to mitigate risks as well as limit potential legal liability to the crown.
With regard to (c), the agency will not knowingly fund or make payments to a partner organization or enterprise that has declared bankruptcy. Furthermore, as a condition to release of holdbacks and final payment, contractual agreements signed with enterprises require prior certification that all financial obligations to employees, sub-contractors or suppliers have been fully discharged. When the agency has been made aware of false declarations on the part of enterprises, they will be pursued by the agency to the full extent of the law.
An important distinction should be made between enterprises that have declared bankruptcy and those that may have legally sought temporary protection from creditors through the courts in order to restructure operations to avoid bankruptcy. In such rare situations, the agency will work constructively with all stakeholders and will endeavour to ensure that enterprises in receipt of CIDA funding conduct their affairs in manner that abides with the laws of Canada, particularly with respect to Canadian subcontractors, employees and suppliers.
