House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 34% of the vote.
Government Contracts June 14th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, in the appropriate course of events it is important for public officials to do their jobs. In this case the auditor general will be conducting an examination across government having to do with all advertising sponsorships and polling. In the meantime, when there are any matters that require appropriate investigation by police authorities, the references to the police occur automatically.
Government Contracts June 14th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I have been asked by the Prime Minister to deal with certain issues within Communication Canada and within Public Works Canada.
A variety of steps have been taken, including a departmental review by my department, a complete examination which will begin shortly by the auditor general, police references when there is any legal question that arises, an overall examination of governance issues and management framework issues by the treasury board and of course the work of the public accounts committee.
Action is moving forward on all fronts.
Government Contracts June 14th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, all files with respect to Polygone projects are under review. On this allegation, which has to do with the potential of double payment for some advertising work, a preliminary inquiry, and I stress the word preliminary, shows that the work appears to be both separate and incremental. Nevertheless the review is ongoing as promised.
In addition, as I previously said, my predecessor already acted on this matter to eliminate such advertising as an eligible activity for the future under the sponsorship programs, and I have suspended all sponsorship activities with the firm.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the department involved here is Communication Canada and it is one that is relatively small in terms of the Government of Canada overall. I will be looking at the resource requirements, both human resources and otherwise, within Communication Canada to ensure that it does have the physical capacity to do the tasks I ask it to perform.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the Bloc has indicated its support for my position that we should find a system that performs without the use of agencies. That is certainly my objective for the future.
The hon. member will know that we are in the middle of an administrative year where it is difficult to make changes partway through, but I will do my best to deliver a system that does not use agencies.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the treasury board encourages every department of government to have a strong internal audit division that can investigate issues of financial probity within the various departments.
My department happens to have a particularly good internal audit section. The auditor general herself has said that. It was the internal audit that disclosed that some treasury board procedures had not been respected and that is why we have taken corrective action.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, again the hon. gentleman raises the question of money that was paid in the form of a commission to an agency of record that held that money for some period of time before paying its subsidiary accounts.
That is part of the nature of an agency transaction. That is why we are examining the issue of value for money and that is exactly why we want to dispose of the agency system so that this problem does not occur.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, an agency of record does provide services. The issue is what the value of those services is compared to the money paid. That is the question that is going to be audited by the auditor general. Indeed I have serious questions about the commission's system. That is why I have suggested that we should develop a delivery mechanism that does not use commissions at all.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the auditor general will be examining the question of value for money. That is something she is obviously deeply concerned about. She will determine on the basis of her audit to be done over the next number of months with respect to advertising sponsorships and that kind of activity, whether or not proper value for money has been received.
One of the issues I am examining for the future is that if and when an agent is used, perhaps the government holdback should be 100% until the work done has been verified.
Government Contracts June 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the issue the hon. gentleman raises goes to the question of value for money and that is a question that lies at the very root of this file.
I will be working with experts both inside the government and outside to come up with a stronger definition of what constitutes value for money in an area like advertising or sponsorships. It is extremely important for taxpayers to be assured that they have in fact received what they have paid for.