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House Hansard - 280

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 12, 2024 11:00AM
  • Feb/12/24 2:22:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that the moment there were allegations around cost overruns or inappropriate contracting practices, the Canada Border Services Agency immediately began an internal audit and made the appropriate referrals to the appropriate authorities. We take the obligation of managing taxpayers' money very seriously. Under no circumstances would we condone what the Auditor General determined to be contracting practices that did not follow the rules, and anybody who did not follow them will be held to account.
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  • Feb/12/24 2:40:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, accountability is extremely important to us as a government. That is precisely why we took all the necessary steps as soon as we became aware of allegations of inappropriate contracting practices. We conducted an internal audit, which is still in progress. We referred matters to the appropriate authorities when necessary. We have obviously read the report released by the Auditor General today, and we will be implementing all the measures she suggests.
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  • Feb/12/24 2:44:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, when the Border Services Agency was made aware of allegations around inappropriate contracting practices, the appropriate authorities were called in and an internal audit was ordered, an audit that, by the way, is still in progress. If people did something that was not appropriate or that met a criminal standard, they will obviously be held to account. The government has been very clear: All of the processes to respect taxpayer money are essential, and that is exactly what we are going to put into place.
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  • Feb/12/24 2:58:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, far from covering up, the government has co-operated with parliamentary inquiries that are looking into the matter. The government proactively sent internal audit reviews to a parliamentary committee, and the Conservative chair decided not to share them with the members. We have no lessons to take on acting in a transparent manner. We have said from the beginning that any allegations of inappropriate contracting practices need to face the most severe consequences. That is exactly what the government will ensure.
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