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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 283

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:19:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is right to highlight the important work of the Auditor General, who tabled a scathing report on Monday. We are grateful for that. Many of her recommendations are already in place. Others will be carried out over the next few weeks. As she has said, all this information is transparent and has been shared, including with the RCMP.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:20:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after having thanked and lauded the work of the Auditor General, our colleague would certainly not want to pretend that she is not able to do her job. Her integrity and independence are essential to the work of the government. We are grateful for what she does and for what she will be able to continue doing.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:25:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for reminding us, albeit rather discreetly, of the very difficult circumstances we experienced just a few years ago during the biggest pandemic since 1919, at a time when millions of jobs and billions of dollars in economic costs were at stake. We had to act quickly and decisively. Those were the operative words for the public service. That being said, that is not an excuse. It is unacceptable that public service employees did not do their jobs properly.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:27:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is completely right. An investigation was and is necessary. That is exactly what the Auditor General has worked on over the last few months. She had access—and rightfully so—to all the necessary information to do her work. We are grateful to her for her report. Obviously, we are appalled by what the report says. That is all the more reason to continue to implement her important recommendations.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:36:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague stressed the importance of the Auditor General's work, and rightly so. The good news is that she tabled a report on Monday with some troubling findings and solid recommendations that we are now implementing or continuing to implement. The member says she is hiding under a rug. That is not true. The Auditor General is in contact with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and all the other organizations, including internal ones, that will need the information she was able to gather.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:37:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, not only did the Auditor General do her job, she did a very good job. We appreciate the work she did and will draw from it. It will help us continue implementing the measures we need, even in times of crisis when situations are extremely complicated for everyone, including Canadians, and when quick action is essential. In these times of crisis, like all other times of crisis, the basic rules of sound management of the public service still hold.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:41:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is correct to point to the important work of parliamentary committees, which are called to do valuable work to support that of the government in making sure that even in times of crisis, like the pandemic, proper rules are followed, known and monitored by all public servants, including those at the CBSA.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:42:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member pointed out, again, correctly, the importance of investigations. The good news is that there was an investigation by the Auditor General just a few weeks and months ago. There was an important report tabled on Monday with findings that are totally unacceptable, even in the context of the worst pandemic that we have seen in over a century, the worst economic crisis that we have seen since the 1930s. The findings are unacceptable, and that is why we are going to keep implementing all the recommendations in the Auditor General's report.
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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24
Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)
  • Feb/15/24 2:44:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned the word responsibility. In times of crisis, a responsible government has two responsibilities. First, it must protect people's health and ensure their safety. That included the lives of tens of thousands of Quebeckers and Canadians during the pandemic. Second, it must ensure that transportation, in this case within Canada as well as across-the-border transportation, goes smoothly so that medication and personal protective equipment get through, and so that international trade, worth billions of dollars every week, can continue flowing in an efficient and useful manner.
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