44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 12, 2024 11:00AM
- Feb/12/24 2:25:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, not everything was perfect when Quebec introduced MAID. However, because people were suffering, we focused on the elements on which there was consensus. We wanted to move forward. That was the compassionate approach, and that is the approach that is missing today in Ottawa.
There is consensus in both Quebec and Canada. People suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's should be able to make advance requests. Why not move forward on that front, where there is consensus, instead of punting the issue of medical assistance in dying down the road until at least 2027?
Do patients deserve to be abandoned until 2027?
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- Feb/12/24 2:26:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is a deeply personal and complex choice.
I have great respect for the crucial work Quebec has done on advance requests. Canada has only one Criminal Code, and for good reason. Canadians deserve consistent standards and clarity on what is criminal. There is no quick fix to safely allow an exception for Quebec on this issue. The conversation does not end here.
We are committed to working with Quebec to consider next steps.
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- Feb/12/24 2:26:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, by agreeing to this closure motion to push back medical assistance in dying until 2027, those three parties are abandoning those who are suffering. They refuse to listen to the consensus in Canada. They should listen to the consensus in Quebec. They can do that by creating an exemption for Quebec.
Quebec is ready. Quebeckers are ready. The National Assembly is unanimous: Quebeckers want advanced requests to be authorized. Even the Conservative members from Quebec agree. However, they are unable to convince Conservative Canadians. To the Conservatives, Quebec is not worth it.
Will they do it or not?
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- Feb/12/24 2:27:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from day one, we have been treating medical assistance in dying with care. We are trying to balance the autonomy and dignity of the individual with protecting vulnerable populations. We have adopted a prudent approach from day one.
We owe it to Canadians and Quebeckers to address these issues in a thoughtful way and to proceed with caution. We will do that.
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- Feb/12/24 2:27:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about garbage decisions. The Auditor General found that the Liberal government wasted almost $60 million on the ArriveCAN app, which no one uses and which does not even work. This is all at a time when Canadians are struggling to put food on the table and pay their rent or mortgage.
Why are the Liberals—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/12/24 2:28:17 p.m.
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Colleagues, I am going to ask you to please keep your comments to when you are asking questions, so I can hear the hon. members' questions and answers.
The hon. member for Burnaby South.
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- Feb/12/24 2:28:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the Conservatives were upset that I forgot to mention their scandals with the Phoenix pay system and Deloitte. They also have their own scandals to worry about; I should have mentioned those as well.
However, let us talk about the garbage decisions of the Liberal government. The Auditor General found that the Liberals wasted $60 million on an app, the ArriveCAN app, that no one uses and that does not work. This is all at a time when Canadians are struggling with their groceries and their rent.
Why are the Liberals so obsessed with making rich consultants richer, and why are they so out of touch with where Canadians are at?
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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 2:29:48 p.m.
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The Auditor General found that the Liberals wasted at least $60 million on a contract that our public service should have done. Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, and the out-of-touch Liberals are throwing taxpayers' money out the window.
Why are the Liberals so obsessed with making rich consultants richer?
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- Feb/12/24 2:30:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we thank the NDP leader for his question. We share his concerns about the need to manage taxpayers' money wisely.
The Auditor General identified circumstances that were entirely inappropriate. That is why the Canada Border Services Agency and the Department of Public Services and Procurement have taken the necessary steps to ensure that this type of situation never happens again.
We will always remain focused on managing Canadians' money properly.
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- Feb/12/24 2:31:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's arrive scam app was supposed to cost taxpayers $80,000, but it was confirmed by the Auditor General that it in fact cost more than $60 million. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, we know that he is not worth the cost. He is definitely not worth the corruption.
This process was so corrupt that his favourite company of two guys in a basement, GC Strategies, got to write the contract for themselves, to the exclusion of everybody else. We know they did no IT work, and that has been confirmed, but they got $20 million for their trouble.
Will the Prime Minister just admit that he is lining the pockets of insiders at the expense of Canadians?
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- Feb/12/24 2:31:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague repeats a series of allegations that are not borne out by the facts does not make them true. The facts are that the very moment that there were allegations of inappropriate contracting practices, an internal audit was begun by the president of the Canada Border Services Agency, and referrals were made to the appropriate authorities, including the RCMP.
Anybody who did not follow the contracting rules will be held to account. My friend knows that, and he should not ascribe a serious responsibility where it does not exist.
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- Feb/12/24 2:32:28 p.m.
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Canadians want and expect us to ascribe responsibility to the individual responsible, and that is the Prime Minister. This app was supposed to cost $80,000. It cost more than $60 million. It has been under RCMP investigation and investigation by the procurement ombud and the Auditor General, and the results so far are damning for the government. It has lined the pockets of insiders while Canadians are lined up at food banks. It is absolutely unacceptable that the cost overruns have seen $20 million go to a company that did absolutely no work on the app.
Why is the government putting its friends ahead while Canadians suffer?
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- Feb/12/24 2:33:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as our public safety colleague said a few moments ago, it is completely unacceptable to spread misinformation and disinformation. What we do know is that during COVID-19, our borders, including the Canada-U.S. border, had to be shut down. A billion dollars in international trade was at stake. Nevertheless, what we heard from the Auditor General this morning was unacceptable. The task of collecting and managing information must be done properly within the Canadian public service.
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- Feb/12/24 2:33:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's arrive scam app is not worth the cost or the corruption to Canadians. Today, the Auditor General informed us that the arrive scam app, which was supposed to cost $80,000, will now cost Canadians a minimum of $60 million. It gets worse. Due to documentation that the AG says was deleted or destroyed, it could be more than $60 million. She does not know who worked on the arrive scam app, if the work was fulfilled to requirements, or if it was even completed at all.
Why did the Prime Minister rig the process so that insiders get rich and taxpayers foot the bill?
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- Feb/12/24 2:34:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, repeating the last part of my hon. friend's question does not make it true. What is true is that at the moment contracting practice irregularities were identified, the Border Services Agency took all of the steps appropriate to determine exactly what the facts were and to hold those responsible to account in case that is necessary.
The Auditor General identified a series of contracting practices that were not followed. The government does not condone that behaviour and has taken all the steps to make sure those circumstances do not repeat themselves.
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- Feb/12/24 2:35:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every word I say is true, and the member knows it.
The Prime Minister's arrive scam app is not worth the cost or the corruption. Contractors were paid over $1,000 a day, even though 18% of the invoices for these contracts had no supporting documentation, so we do not even know if the contractors completed the work.
GC Strategies pocketed almost $20 million and yet completed no work itself, and it gets worse: It wrote the requirements for the $25-million contract it won.
I have a simple question for the Prime Minister: How is he going to get our money back?
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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 2:36:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's ArriveCAN app is not worth the unwarranted costs. The Prime Minister's ArriveCAN app is not worth the lack of accountability for the money spent. The Prime Minister's ArriveCAN app is not worth the Liberal incompetence on basic accounting practices. The Prime Minister's ArriveCAN app is not worth the 10,000 people who were put in quarantine without justification.
The Auditor General said that the government paid too much for the Prime Minister's app. It is not worth the at least $60 million paid by Canadians. It is not worth the corruption. Does the Prime Minister realize that?
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- Feb/12/24 2:37:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in times of crisis, the Canadian government has two responsibilities. The first is to keep people healthy and safe. The second is to ensure that its internal processes are effective and efficient.
What we know is that, during COVID-19, nearly 70,000 Canadians died, 60 million people needed to cross the border, and we needed to ensure the movement of $1 billion in international trade.
Despite all that, the Auditor General's report that was published this morning shows that the CBSA mismanaged information, which is unacceptable.
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