44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2023 10:00AM
- Jan/31/23 2:34:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current Prime Minister, Canadians have doled out $15 billion for consultants; in return, they get chaos at airports, growing immigration backlogs and 40-year highs in inflation. Our constituents have skipped meals; they have visited food banks in record numbers. They reel from Liberal inflation-driven interest rate hikes. They have spent Canadian tax dollars on giveaways to well-connected insiders and they blame everyone else. After eight years, there is no one to point fingers at anymore.
When will the Prime Minister stop the giveaways to his friends and start working for ordinary Canadians?
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- Jan/31/23 2:35:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are very quick to point to the government every time they think there is a political opportunity for themselves. What we are focused on doing in the meantime is advancing solutions that will put more money in the pockets of low-income renters, which the Conservatives voted against, and solutions like making sure that kids who come from low-income families can go to the dentist, which they voted against. This has been their pattern since the very day we formed government.
When we stopped sending child care cheques to millionaires to put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families, they voted against it. When we raised taxes on the wealthiest 1% so we could cut them for the middle class, they voted against it. Every step of the way, we have been focused on families. It would be nice if they finally supported one of these measures.
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- Jan/31/23 2:36:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals brag about the billions spent, but the call is coming from inside the House. It has been eight years, and the Prime Minister has doubled the national debt. The price of a house has doubled. Now he is going to triple the carbon tax.
For the millions of people struggling to pay their now $2,000 rent or their higher mortgage rates and for the millions using food banks, the Prime Minister has one message, which is that they have never had it so good. It is true for his friends like McKinsey, WE, the Foodies Media firm and their besties who do media training, but it is not true for anyone else. How do they let this happen?
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- Jan/31/23 2:36:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that every time the opposition talks about climate change, which happens very rarely, they never talk about the cost to Canadians, such as the billions of dollars from hurricane Fiona or the billions of dollars from atmospheric rivers in B.C. that are killing people in Canada. They never talk about these costs to Canadians.
On this side of the House, we will fight climate change and we will work to support Canadians in this transition.
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- Jan/31/23 2:37:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Metro's president confirmed that food prices will continue to rise in 2023. Even more families and seniors will be forced to rely on food banks to feed themselves.
After eight years under this Prime Minister, people are so desperate that some have even resorted to shoplifting. News outlet 24 heures asked people why they stole. Marlène said, “After I pay rent and bills, all I have left is $80 to make it through two weeks”.
How can the Prime Minister pay firms $1,000 an hour when Marlène has to break the law to feed herself?
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- Jan/31/23 2:38:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all share my colleague's concern for vulnerable Canadians who need a little help making ends meet.
What I do not understand is why the Conservatives keep voting against measures that will help those Quebeckers and Canadians across the country. They voted against benefits for workers and against enhancing benefits for seniors.
What is important is always being there for Canadians while also being fiscally responsible.
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- Jan/31/23 2:38:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are against the millions of dollars being given to Liberal firms.
After eight years in power, this Prime Minister is admitting that he will never be competent. The proof is that he awarded an 80-year contract for consulting services to the Liberal firm McKinsey. Imagine if a government had granted a contract like that in 1943, in the middle of the Second World War. There were no personal computers or cell phones back then, and no Internet either.
How can this government predict that McKinsey will still be relevant in 2100? Could this be the Prime Minister's plan to ensure he gets a golden retirement?
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- Jan/31/23 2:39:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are still waiting for the Conservatives to come up with solutions to help Canadians deal with the difficult times we are currently facing with rising interest rates.
We know what the Conservatives' solutions are, because we have seen them in the past. It is “every person for themselves”, with cuts to all the programs that are there to help those who really need it.
What we are saying to Canadians is that we will be there for them, especially with the Canada child benefit, which has helped lift 435,000 children out of poverty. Together we will get through this.
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- Jan/31/23 2:39:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, McKinsey is under contract with the government until 2100. It has an open contract for IT services.
Just imagine. This government was unable to predict and manage the passport crisis last spring, but it can predict its IT needs until 2100. That is impressive.
Does this mean that the federal government can award McKinsey contracts for any amount without a call for tenders until 2100 and that taxpayers and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have no say in the matter?
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- Jan/31/23 2:41:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to set the record straight. It is not a contract. It is more of a procurement arrangement. That means there is no financial agreement. It is more of a pre-qualification. Hundreds of suppliers already have the same arrangement. It is a long-standing practice that helps the government save money and time.
Our government will continue to uphold the highest standards of openness, transparency and financial accountability.
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- Jan/31/23 2:41:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 2100 is a long time from now. I am not sure which party will form the government, nor whether the parties here will still be around, but I do know two things: In 2100, Quebec will be a country and McKinsey will still have a contract or arrangement with Canada. This raises important questions. Regardless of which party governs here, regardless of who voters elect, McKinsey will still be there by virtue of a contract or an arrangement, as the minister says, without any clear mandate.
Is that what we want in a democracy?
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- Jan/31/23 2:42:29 p.m.
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My colleague is right, Mr. Speaker. We do not know what party will be in office in 2100, but it will certainly not be the Bloc Québécois, which is once again trying to stir up trouble and sow division.
Do members know why Canada will still be united in 2100? It is because our strength is much greater than our differences. We can be different but stay united by communicating. That is where Canada's strength lies, despite what the Bloc Québécois wants to do.
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- Jan/31/23 2:43:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is not very united with the public service, because this contract sends the public service a very bad message. An 80-year contract with McKinsey shows that the government does not recognize its own public service's expertise and that it does not intend to rely on that expertise in the long term. In other words, the government is telling us that it does not intend to develop expertise internally within the public service and that it would prefer to continue outsourcing the federal administration to the private sector.
Is that acceptable?
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- Jan/31/23 2:43:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have just gone through some tough years with the pandemic. Public servants fulfilled their obligations. They helped us to get through it while ensuring that small and medium-sized businesses, workers and families were taken care of. We will continue to work with the public service and deliver on our priorities for Canadians, workers and businesses.
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- Jan/31/23 2:44:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is one more sleep until the Prime Minister's good friend Dominic Barton appears before the government operations committee.
The Prime Minister has called Dominic Barton an “exceptional individual”. Dominic Barton's company fuelled the opioid crisis, advised Saudi autocrats on dissident crackdowns and helped Chinese state-owned companies build militarized islands in the South China Sea.
Yes, Dominic Barton certainly is “exceptional”, but why does the Prime Minister do so much for his ethically deficient friends and so little for struggling Canadians?
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- Jan/31/23 2:44:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we are committed to ensuring that government contracts stand up to the highest standards. We ensure value for money. We ensure quality of services for Canadians. We only contract and procure professional services to complement our professional public services when there are unexpected workload fluctuations and when there is a need for specific expertise. Of course, I will elaborate further when I attend the committee next week.
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- Jan/31/23 2:45:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we continue to hear complete non-responses from the government.
The Globe and Mail has reported that federal government contracts accounted for 10% of McKinsey gross revenues. I think McKinsey puts the gross into gross revenue. When Dominic Barton led McKinsey, they developed a plan to supercharge the opioid crisis that included rewarding pharmacists for overdose deaths. That is despicable.
Why did the Prime Minister funnel over $100 million into this disgusting company?
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- Jan/31/23 2:46:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in all things, the government ensures that the contracts it enters into are efficacious and get good value for money and ensure we deliver services to Canadians. The questions that are being posed are fair. We will get an opportunity in committee to be exhaustive and get answers. However, understand that Canada has a reputation around the world for the quality of the contracts it enters into. That is absolutely something we are committed to continue to ensure we get value for money for Canadians.
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- Jan/31/23 2:46:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under the Prime Minister, Canadians have never had it so bad, while Liberal lobbyists and high-priced consultants have had it so good. The amount that the government has paid to McKinsey, formerly led by a personal friend of the Prime Minister, Dominic Barton, has gradually grown from $50 million to over $100 million. While Canadians are struggling, Liberal insiders are flourishing.
Will the Prime Minister tell us the real amount his government has paid to McKinsey?
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- Jan/31/23 2:47:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have to take exception to this notion that Canadians have never done worse, and talking down our economy. I would point out that when the members opposite, the Conservatives, were in power, the economy had 1.5 million less jobs; there were over a million and a half more people in poverty; Canada was at the bottom of the G7 across about every single indicator and, in fact, had the worst growth rate in terms of GDP of any government since 1946. Next year, Canada will be number two, as projected by the IMF, in GDP growth. When Conservatives talk down our economy, they should be careful they do not get reflected back to their own record.
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