SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 75

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Mark Gerretsen
  • May/19/22 4:34:45 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, one of the challenges always has been about how to nail down a plan on something that is continually evolving, shifting and changing. I share the member's great concern about the tourism industry. The third-biggest economic driver in my riding is tourism. That is why the government was there for tourism operators specifically when the pandemic started. It was there before the last wave and will continue to be there for tourism operators moving into the future. We cannot predict the exact moves of the pandemic, but we can be there to support small businesses and tourism operators specifically through the pandemic. That is exactly what we have been doing and continue to do.
118 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 7:18:18 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, this is a really important initiative, and what I will say is that we are making great headway in this regard. With regard to indigenous businesses, we want to encourage them. We want to provide them with the tools and the support that they need. They are very pleased that we are collaborating. They are very pleased that we have commenced this initiative, and we look forward to continuing to work with indigenous businesses. What I would point out is that is the floor, not the ceiling.
89 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mrs. Julie Vignola
  • May/19/22 7:23:52 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, it would appear that businesses do not entirely agree with what the minister. That is their right. Many in government and in the private sector have pointed out how difficult it is to do business with the government, particularly when it comes to francophone SMEs. In the past year, what proportion of government tenders and contracts were written in both official languages?
64 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • May/19/22 8:13:19 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, this is beautiful. The minister's own departmental plan, on page 19, if she wishes to check, targets for this year a 15% decrease in purchases from Canadian small businesses last year. How is this supporting small businesses?
40 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 8:13:35 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, we are working very hard to support small businesses. I do not agree with the premise of that question. In fact, during COVID-19, over 40% of the funds spent were spent on domestic production.
37 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • May/19/22 8:13:47 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, I even noted on what page in the departmental plan, signed by the minister, the target decrease was. Now, the previous minister for PSPC testified in committee that Amazon was a Canadian company. Is this why the Liberals are giving so much to Amazon and not buying from Canadian small businesses?
53 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • May/19/22 8:14:21 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, actually, last year, the government purchased $20 million in goods, not including the cloud services, from Amazon. This year alone, year to date, in just two months it is $10 million. How is buying from Amazon supporting small businesses?
41 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • May/19/22 8:14:53 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, an Order Paper response showed over 7,000 pages of purchases from Amazon instead of from small businesses. Amazon's market cap is $1.5 trillion. How is this a Canadian small business?
35 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • May/19/22 8:15:19 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, that is not the case. The large majority of dollars in purchases from Amazon are not for web services, and the Order Paper response provided by the government shows that. Why is the government spending so much on Amazon and not on small Canadian businesses?
47 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 8:15:39 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, actually, we are absolutely supporting small and medium-sized businesses. As I have said, 42% of COVID spending with respect to procurement was for Canadian domestic businesses. We have entered into major contracts. Millions of masks are being produced locally here and we are going to continue to do that.
52 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Mr. Kelly McCauley
  • May/19/22 8:15:59 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, there is $32 million in purchases from small businesses for direct non-cloud services, and about $20 million for cloud. That is the truth, right from the government's own numbers. Amazon has sold items promoting Xinjiang cotton, three of which directly use forced labour. Will the minister immediately end all government Amazon purchases and buy from local Canadian businesses instead?
63 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 75 - May/19/22
Hon. Filomena Tassi
  • May/19/22 8:16:25 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, I would like to add, with respect to the support for small businesses, that we have Procurement Assistance Canada. It helps small businesses, as I spoke about earlier this evening, to navigate in order to procure goods. We are going to continue to support them.
47 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border