Justin Trudeau

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, there are ongoing investigations, both internal and external, that are following up on exactly how this unacceptable situation happened. We received the Auditor General's report last week.

We are following up and we have been following up on this for months already. We are going to continue to make sure that anyone who broke the rules faces consequences and that systems and structures surrounding the public service and procurement are changed. This is something we are taking very seriously, as we must.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, investigations are under way to find out exactly who is responsible, what rules were broken and what the consequences will be for the people involved.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, investigations are ongoing to find out exactly how this happened, who benefited and what the consequences will be. That is very important. At the same time, we must remember that everything we did at that time was to protect Canadians. Even during that terrible crisis, we expected the rules to be followed. Obviously, it appears that they were not followed. That is why investigations are ongoing to get to the bottom of this.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic we were there to invest, to protect Canadians and to keep their lives safe. Despite the objections and the conspiracy theories of the Conservative Party, we stepped up in many different ways.

Even as we did, we expected and we continue to expect that the rules around procurement will be followed by the public service. It is obvious that this was not the case here. That is why there are ongoing investigations. There will be consequences, and there will be changes made to the public service's systems.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, that is among the questions. There are direct follow-ups. Investigations are ongoing right now, both internal and external, to ensure that, as rules were evidently broken, there are consequences and there is accountability for this.

There is no doubt that there are serious challenges around procurement and the public service that were evident at that time. We need to make sure that is fixed. We need to move forward in a way that takes better responsibility for the kinds of challenges we saw in this situation.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have addressed these questions, but I will highlight that some of the Conservatives' attacks on this situation are because they deeply deplore all the measures we put in to keep Canadians safe during the pandemic. We remember how they gave in to conspiracy theories, spreading anti-vaxxer conspiracies and standing against measures we needed to put forward to keep Canadians safe.

Yes, as we did all those things, we made sure rules were followed, and for any rules that were not followed, there are consequences and there are investigations ongoing. We will continue to keep Canadians safe—

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, our government sought to keep Canadians safe and healthy in every way possible. That was our overarching goal, and we succeeded in doing better than most of our peer countries.

At the same time, when we were doing all this to protect Canadians, we expected all the rules to be followed. That is what we demanded. Clearly the rules were not followed. That is why we are making sure there is a follow-up, an investigation, and there will be consequences for anyone who has broken the law.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, Canadians' lives were at risk and we, quite rightly, as a government, reached out to use all the possible tools to keep Canadians safe. Indeed, the pandemic was less deadly and less harmful to our economy in Canada than it was in most, if not all, of our peer countries.

At the same time, even as we were innovating and trying to do everything we could to keep Canadians safe, the rules needed to be followed. It is obvious that in this case the rules do not look like they were followed, and that is why there are investigations ongoing that need to get to the bottom of this.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as soon as we became aware that there were irregularities or that rules had not been followed when this contract was awarded by the public service, internal public service processes were triggered within the different departments. We know that other authorities, including the police, have taken interest in this case as well.

We expect all of this work to be taken seriously to ensure that all the rules and consequences are applied if necessary and as needed.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, while the pandemic raged, our government tried to find as many ways as we could to help Canadians protect people's health and safety.

That said, there are clear and precise rules that must be followed when it comes to awarding contracts, even during a pandemic. We expect the investigators and appropriate authorities to do their work to find out exactly how this unacceptable situation came about.