44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 12, 2024 11:00AM
- Feb/12/24 2:19:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we obviously read the Auditor General's report. We accept her recommendations.
Perhaps the only part of the question on which I agree with my colleague opposite is that all those who are responsible for managing taxpayers' money must follow strict rules.
In this case, the rules were not followed. We accept the recommendations so that we can ensure that this never happens again. We will always be responsible with taxpayers' money.
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- Feb/12/24 2:20:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we thank the Auditor General of Canada and welcome her recommendations as part of the audit of the ArriveCAN app.
Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented. Others will be implemented soon, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in future professional services contracts.
We are committed to continuing to ensure that our government awards contracts openly, transparently and responsibly.
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- 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 2:23:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from public safety said earlier, we would like to thank the Auditor General and welcome her recommendations on the ArriveCAN application. Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented. Some will be implemented soon, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in future professional services contracts. We are committed to continuing to ensure that contracts are delivered in a fair, efficient and transparent manner.
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- Feb/12/24 2:29:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we said earlier, we are grateful to the Auditor General for her report, which was important and timely. We have accepted all her recommendations. Some of them have already been implemented over the last few weeks. Some are being implemented.
We look forward to more opportunities to work with her, so that we can make our procurement system as transparent, equitable and fair as Canadians expect it to be.
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- Feb/12/24 2:35:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Auditor General identified some contracting practices that were clearly not followed. Under no circumstance is that acceptable. Governments have the responsibility to manage taxpayers' funds in the most effective way possible. That is why we have accepted all of the Auditor General's recommendations.
The good news is that the Border Services Agency and the procurement department had already begun to act to put in place a number of oversight measures before the Auditor General's report, and we look forward to fully implementing everything she suggested.
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- Feb/12/24 2:37:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand now why Liberals voted unanimously against this investigation by the Auditor General on November 2, 2022.
The Prime Minister's ArriveCAN app was supposed to cost $80,000, but it ended up costing at least $60 million. The Prime Minister's ArriveCAN app, with its 750% cost overruns, is not worth the cost for Canadians. GC Strategies, a two-person company that did no actual IT work, was awarded close to $20 million in contracts, and the CBSA could not tell the auditor General who decided to hire GC Strategies and give them millions of dollars.
Does the Prime Minister realize that he is not worth the cost or the corruption?
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- Feb/12/24 2:39:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report on the ArriveCAN app is damning. The app cost $60 million, with nearly $20 million of that, or one-third, being pocketed by GC Strategies, which did no work at all. The government turned a blind eye, and contractors clearly profited, with support from civil servants. Do not forget that the value of the original contract was $80,000. This scandal has cost $60 million.
How is it possible that costs ballooned by 750% and yet no ministers caught on?
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- Feb/12/24 2:40:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General found that the bidding process for ArriveCAN was not competitive. However, she could not say who at the Canada Border Services Agency decided to award the contract to GC Strategies. There is no way of knowing who is responsible for awarding this two-person company a contract worth nearly $20 million to not provide a service.
Who made that decision? Why has the government not reprimanded that individual? Where is the accountability for ArriveCAN?
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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 2:41:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, ArriveCAN cost $60 million, but even that is not all that clear.
This is what the Auditor General said: “The Canada Border Services Agency’s documentation, financial records, and controls were so poor that we were unable to determine the precise cost”. She does know that 18% of invoices submitted by contractors did not provide any details. In short, we do not know who did what. She also knows that four of the five resources tasked with security assessments were unable to prove that some actual work was done.
How is it possible that no one in the government sounded the alarm before this became public?
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- Feb/12/24 2:46:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, we thank the Auditor General for her important report, which we are grateful to have seen this morning. However, we have followed many of the recommendations that we find in that report, including improving evaluation requirements and work experience data, increasing record keeping on subcontracting work, and suspending authorities temporarily for task authorization until we are confident that better procedures are not only put into place but also better monitored.
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- Feb/12/24 2:51:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in a time of crisis, a responsible government has two responsibilities; the first is to protect the health and safety of its citizens, and the second is to ensure the efficiency of its internal systems.
What we know from COVID-19 is that $1 billion in economic costs to Canadians was incurred every day. What we also know is that hundreds of people were dying every week. However, at the same time, this is no excuse for the type of recommendation and finding that the Auditor General deposited today, and that is why we are going to continue to—
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- Feb/12/24 2:53:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we have seen the Auditor General's disastrous report on the ArriveCAN app, which confirmed an outrageous lack of oversight and transparency.
According to his mandate letter, the former president of the Treasury Board was supposed to “raise the bar on openness, effectiveness and transparency in government.” The member for Québec's primary responsibility was to review expenditures related to contracts worth more than $60 million.
Will the minister apologize to Canadians for having failed in his duties?
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- Feb/12/24 2:53:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for this reminder of what the obligations of a responsible government are. A responsible government makes sure to protect the health and safety of its citizens, including in times of crisis like COVID-19, the worst health crisis since the last century and the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
We had to act quickly to save hundreds and even thousands of lives and billions of dollars in economic costs. That being said, in spite of all of that, the Auditor General of Canada, in her report and recommendations, describes an unacceptable situation. We need to do better next time.
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- Feb/12/24 3:01:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it would have been a scandal if the Canadian government had not assumed its responsibility to protect the health and safety of people, including in the riding of Lévis—Lotbinière, where the jobs of hundreds of people depended on efficient and fast transportation at the U.S. border, where $1 billion in trade takes place every day.
Nevertheless, the Auditor General's recommendations from this morning are troubling. We will continue to move forward to implement them in the coming weeks.
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- Feb/12/24 3:04:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was that minister's department that hid the RCMP investigation from the Auditor General. It was also his party that had those documents on Wednesday. What did those members do? They filibustered and then voted to excuse the witness.
It is very clear that the government at every chance it gets will cover up the ArriveCAN scandal.
I have a quick question. What is the government trying to hide? When will it truly come clean on arrive scam?
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- Feb/12/24 3:06:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Wednesday, at the government operations and estimates committee, the Auditor General will be appearing on her ArriveCAN audit. Given today's report, we will be ordering past and present ministers of public safety, procurement, health and treasury board to answer for ArriveCAN mismanagement and waste. GC Strategies, which we have now learned was paid $20 million, will be issued a summons, ordering its appearance.
The committee will call every witness and compel every document to hold the government to account on ArriveCAN.
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