Mr. Speaker, consistent with the obligations that my officials have under the appropriate legislation, including the Financial Administration Act, steps have been taken by the appropriate officials to refer this matter to the RCMP.
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Government Contracts May 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, consistent with the obligations that my officials have under the appropriate legislation, including the Financial Administration Act, steps have been taken by the appropriate officials to refer this matter to the RCMP.
Government Contracts May 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I have no information before me to that effect.
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I will take the hon. gentleman's question as a representation. I will review the file and see if there is any information in the hands of the Department of Public Works and Government Services that would in any way raise other questions, as has been suggested in the question, that would need to be followed up. If so, I will follow them up.
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, on the first part of the question, I will seek specific legal advice on whether the releasing of numbers would present a difficulty in the investigation. I will answer that question for the hon. gentleman just as soon as I can.
On the second part of the question, the files in this matter are being reviewed back until I believe it is 1997 by my officials. As he knows, there is also a full scale inquiry being made by the auditor general. I believe between those two processes, the internal one and the external one, all--
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman knows, the auditor general herself has made certain references to the RCMP. My officials have undertaken to refer any other matters that come to their attention to the RCMP. The advice I have, and I say this very sincerely to the hon. gentleman, from legal advisers is that for me or for anyone else to comment on the number or on the course of those investigations could do exactly what both he and I would not want to do, and that is foul up the investigation.
Therefore, I ask him to bear with me and assure him that any way in which I can be transparent in this matter I most certainly will be.
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, obviously the matter is in the hands of the RCMP. I am sure no member of the House would want to pursue any course of conduct that would in any way interfere with the RCMP investigation.
On the other hand, I recognize the need for transparency and I will consider what can be done to ensure that while this matter is unfolding there is sufficient transparency to satisfy the public interest.
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that this file was reviewed by officials in my department. They concluded that there were matters here that raised important questions. Those questions have been referred to the RCMP. The RCMP will investigate and the matter will be disposed of according to law.
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the circumstances of the file resulted in a review by the officials in my department who referred the matter to the RCMP for the appropriate action.
The police will investigate. That investigation will take them wherever it takes them. It is up to them to conduct the investigation and I suspect they are considerably better at it than the hon. member.
Government Contracts May 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the matter the leader of the New Democratic Party referred to is, as she knows, in the hands of the RCMP. The very best legal advice given to me is that the worst thing members of the House could do would be to involve themselves in that investigation and perhaps defeat the purpose of what the RCMP are trying to accomplish.
Government Contracts May 28th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, again let me be clear. The contract was awarded by the Department of Canadian Heritage not by the minister. The choice of Groupe Everest was made by officials in the Department of Public Works and Government Services at the time on the basis of the agency's standing offer with that department and that standing offer was the result of a fully competitive process.