44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 12, 2024 11:00AM
- 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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- Feb/12/24 2:59:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this comes from the minister responsible for clam scam.
After eight years, it has never been clearer that the Prime Minister's arrive scam app is not worth the cost or the corruption. Rules were ignored, and the government overpaid. Canadians are kept in the dark. The system is so corrupt that only the Prime Minister could have thought it up. The rot starts at the top, and the NDP-Liberal government is trying to cover it up.
Will the coalition allow the study of arrive scam to continue or will it shut it down to keep its buddies safe?
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- Feb/12/24 3:00:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague refers to the work of a parliamentary committee. As I said in the previous answer, our government has collaborated at all times with the parliamentary committee.
The president of the Canada Border Services Agency, at my suggestion, sent a copy of the preliminary internal audit to the committee. The Conservative chair decided not to share it with the members, because it might somehow prevent them from asking a series of partisan questions to bureaucrats who were there to appear before the committee.
We have been transparent and will continue to be at all times.
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- Feb/12/24 3:00:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of government incompetence, this is further proof that it is not worth the cost and not worth the corruption.
Inconceivably, the ArriveCAN app was initially supposed to cost $80,000 and the final bill was over $60 million. This means that the cost was 750 times higher than expected.
What happened between $80,000 and $60 million? Bogus invoices were paid using taxpayers' money. Can anyone tell us who paid out all that money?
What we have here is the greatest scandal of them all.
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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 3:02:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic indicators seem to be saying that we are in a very enviable position compared to the rest of the world. Nevertheless, some Canadians remain worried about the cost of living and affordability in general.
Can the Minister of Industry tell this House about Canada's economic situation and the impact of our position on the country's growth in general?
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- Feb/12/24 3:02:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question.
Yes, there are concerns, but there are also great economic developments that are very encouraging for Canadians.
Last month, the Canadian economy added 37,000 jobs. Unemployment is going down. Women's participation in the workforce is at an all-time high.
What is more, we are attracting generational investments in the automotive, biomanufacturing and natural resources sectors.
Canada is positioning itself as an economic leader in the 21st century.
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- Feb/12/24 3:03:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, it is clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. What else is not worth the cost? The Prime Minister's $60-million arrive scam app.
What started out as an $80,000 app is now at $60 million, and the Auditor General cannot confirm that it will not go higher. Taxpayers did not get value for the Prime Minister's $60-million arrive scam app, as the Auditor General has stated.
Will the Prime Minister come clean and tell us how much taxpayers are going to be truly fleeced for his arrive scam app?
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- Feb/12/24 3:03:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, our government has, at the very first opportunity when these allegations were made, taken all of the appropriate steps to ensure that taxpayer money is respected. The Canada Border Services Agency president ordered an internal investigation. Those preliminary findings were shared with the committee, with which my hon. colleague is very familiar. It is too bad that the chair of that committee chose not to share, for example, that report with the members of the committee.
Our government is being transparent, and will always be, to ensure that taxpayer money is well spent.
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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 3:05:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the government is interested in the utmost transparency in this matter. That is why the president of the Canada Border Services Agency and her officials appeared before the committee. That is why an internal investigation was ordered.
My colleague referred to a referral to the RCMP. It may surprise him, but it is not politicians who direct the operational work of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Therefore, we cannot speak to exactly what investigations are being done. We have full confidence that they will hold those to account in the case that this is merited.
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- Feb/12/24 3:06:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for two years, parliamentary committees have been investigating the cozy relationship between government officials and highly paid insiders.
Documents tabled at committee showed that the two-person-in-a-basement firm GC Strategies was hosting dinners and whiskey tastings for the same government officials who were giving multi-million-dollar contracts, all while government officials were getting mighty high bonuses.
Could the chair of the mighty government operations committee inform the House of when the committee will next meet and when we will get answers for all Canadians?
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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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- Feb/12/24 3:07:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like many people across the country, I have been deeply disturbed by attacks—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/12/24 3:07:35 p.m.
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I am going to ask members to please allow the Chair to hear the questions and the answers from all members.
The hon. member for St. John's East, from the top, please.
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- Feb/12/24 3:07:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like many people across the country, I have been deeply disturbed by attacks from the Premiers of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and now Alberta on vulnerable 2SLGBTQ+ students who are looking for privacy, dignity and a safe place to be who they are. Far too often, for this group, home is not a safe place.
What can our government and people who believe in inclusion do to fight this discrimination?
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- Feb/12/24 3:08:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the weeks since Danielle Smith took to social media to threaten the privacy, the safety and the dignity of queer and trans students, I have spoken to countless individuals who have told me how terrified they are about the discriminatory actions taken by the provincial government.
I have one message for every person in Alberta who believes in the inclusive and equitable province that we know it to be. What those people need to do is to call the silent Conservative MPs in this room and call the MLAs in Alberta, so we can kill this bill before it gets to the floor of the legislature.
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- Feb/12/24 3:09:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those out-of-touch Liberals show time and again that they do not have the backs of brewery workers. The Liberals are set to drastically increase the tax on beer in April. This will hurt breweries, small businesses and restaurants, and their unionized workers risk losing their jobs. Workers deserve better.
Will the minister listen and reverse her decision to increase costs on those who are already struggling to keep their doors open?
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- Feb/12/24 3:09:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am really glad to have a question about Canadian workers and Canadian jobs because it gives me a chance to share some good news that we got on Friday. The Canadian economy, in January, added 37,000 new jobs. That means we have 1.1 million more jobs than we had before COVID hit. Unemployment fell to 5.7%. That is lower than it was at any time when Stephen Harper was prime minister.
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- Feb/12/24 3:10:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Hazim is a member of my community with family members trapped in Gaza, including his brothers, sister and mother. Like so many, he worries he will not be able to get them to safety. Unlike Ukraine, the government has imposed an arbitrary cap of 1,000 people who can qualify for special immigration measures. Worse still, other countries, like Iceland, have been successful in getting family members out in 2024, while Canada has not.
What is the minister doing to compel Israel to allow Canadian visa holders to leave Gaza?
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