44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2024 02:00PM
- Feb/14/24 2:41:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the rules were flagrantly violated, and millions of dollars were wasted.
The Liberals gave $250 million to GC Strategies and that includes $60 million spent on an app that does not work. The government could have built 125 affordable housing units with that $60 million.
How can the Prime Minister look Canadians in the eye after wasting so much money?
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- Feb/14/24 2:41:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, our government sought to keep Canadians safe and healthy in every way possible. That was our overarching goal, and we succeeded in doing better than most of our peer countries.
At the same time, when we were doing all this to protect Canadians, we expected all the rules to be followed. That is what we demanded. Clearly the rules were not followed. That is why we are making sure there is a follow-up, an investigation, and there will be consequences for anyone who has broken the law.
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- Feb/14/24 2:42:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he did not answer the NDP leader's question. The question was, how can the Prime Minister waste millions of dollars on the arrive scam app when Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat or house themselves? The answer is because the NDP keeps the Prime Minister in power, that is how, and votes consistently in committee to cover up the scandal and shut down investigations.
This app was supposed to cost 80 grand, said the Prime Minister. Now it is at least $60 million, but we do not know for sure because of missing documents. What is the full and final cost of the arrive scam app?
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- Feb/14/24 2:43:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have addressed these questions, but I will highlight that some of the Conservatives' attacks on this situation are because they deeply deplore all the measures we put in to keep Canadians safe during the pandemic. We remember how they gave in to conspiracy theories, spreading anti-vaxxer conspiracies and standing against measures we needed to put forward to keep Canadians safe.
Yes, as we did all those things, we made sure rules were followed, and for any rules that were not followed, there are consequences and there are investigations ongoing. We will continue to keep Canadians safe—
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- Feb/14/24 2:43:42 p.m.
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The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
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- Feb/14/24 2:43:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what was the full and final cost of the app?
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- Feb/14/24 2:43:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is among the questions. There are direct follow-ups. Investigations are ongoing right now, both internal and external, to ensure that, as rules were evidently broken, there are consequences and there is accountability for this.
There is no doubt that there are serious challenges around procurement and the public service that were evident at that time. We need to make sure that is fixed. We need to move forward in a way that takes better responsibility for the kinds of challenges we saw in this situation.
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- Feb/14/24 2:44:30 p.m.
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- Feb/14/24 2:44:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic we were there to invest, to protect Canadians and to keep their lives safe. Despite the objections and the conspiracy theories of the Conservative Party, we stepped up in many different ways.
Even as we did, we expected and we continue to expect that the rules around procurement will be followed by the public service. It is obvious that this was not the case here. That is why there are ongoing investigations. There will be consequences, and there will be changes made to the public service's systems.
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- Feb/14/24 2:45:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that the ArriveCAN app would cost $80,000. According to the Auditor General, it cost at least $60 million. That is 750 times more expensive. We do not know everything yet because some documents are missing. The Prime Minister has the power to request all documents from his government.
How much did the app cost?
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- Feb/14/24 2:45:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, investigations are ongoing to find out exactly how this happened, who benefited and what the consequences will be. That is very important. At the same time, we must remember that everything we did at that time was to protect Canadians. Even during that terrible crisis, we expected the rules to be followed. Obviously, it appears that they were not followed. That is why investigations are ongoing to get to the bottom of this.
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- Feb/14/24 2:46:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how much did it cost?
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- Feb/14/24 2:46:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, investigations are under way to find out exactly who is responsible, what rules were broken and what the consequences will be for the people involved.
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- Feb/14/24 2:46:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the people involved are the taxpayers who are struggling to pay their bills. He leads the government. He has access to all the documents.
Does he expect us to believe that he does not know how much the arrive scam app cost?
Does he really expect us to believe that he does not know how much his own app cost? He has the power to call for any document he wants from the government. Either he is covering it up, or he is incompetent, or worse.
Which is it?
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- Feb/14/24 2:47:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are ongoing investigations, both internal and external, that are following up on exactly how this unacceptable situation happened. We received the Auditor General's report last week.
We are following up and we have been following up on this for months already. We are going to continue to make sure that anyone who broke the rules faces consequences and that systems and structures surrounding the public service and procurement are changed. This is something we are taking very seriously, as we must.
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- Feb/14/24 2:48:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the pandemic is a convenient excuse for a lot of things, but it does not relieve the government of its obligations of sound management and accountability. We now know that the Prime Minister is responsible, and we know that he did not launch a specific investigation into the ArriveCAN app and the $60 million.
Has the Prime Minister taken any steps to recover the money that was spent inappropriately and that must be returned to the public coffers, regardless of whose hands it ended up in?
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- Feb/14/24 2:48:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in answer to a previous question, I mentioned that internal processes and investigations began months ago to look into this contract, which was improperly awarded and for which the rules were not followed.
This has been under way for several months and we have been taking this situation seriously. Although there was a pandemic and we had to react quickly and creatively, that does not excuse the fact that contracts were improperly awarded or the fact that the rules were not followed. That is why we are conducting investigations, and there will be consequences.
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- Feb/14/24 2:49:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in a cagey and roundabout way, the Prime Minister is admitting that there was misappropriation and misuse of public funds at the Canada Border Services Agency.
Has he at least considered relieving the current administration of their duties and temporarily placing the agency under third-party management?
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- Feb/14/24 2:49:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a result of internal investigations, there have already been consequences for some of the people involved. I am not going to say anything else because there are processes and investigations under way. However, I can reassure people by telling them that, yes, we have taken concrete action and there have been consequences, but there will be even more consequences as the authorities involved continue their work.
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- Feb/14/24 2:50:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the common-sense Conservative Party is focused on cutting taxes, building housing, fixing the budget and stopping crime, this Prime Minister's radical Minister of Environment is launching a war on cars. He said that their government has decided to stop investing in new road infrastructure.
How does he think people in the regions are going to get to work? By bike?
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