SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 299 - Apr/15/24

Apr/15/24 5:32:14 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague as well. We have worked very closely on issues around helping people in other parts of the world, and I appreciate her work. One of the things that I have heard from many members in my community and from the Iranian Canadian community around the country, is that they do not feel heard by the government. They do not feel that the government has listened to them and acted with urgency. After flight PS752, they wanted an independent investigation. They wanted more to be done, and we did not see that action from the government. In terms even of listing the IRGC, of course we support this motion. We will support this. This is important work. What we are not seeing is that communities feel that their concerns about foreign interference and about interference within their communities are being heard. Even when we look at the potential for sports teams to come here, for people to be in our community who are clearly bad actors that the government knows about, there is very little action. We need the community to feel like the government is listening and acting on their needs.

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Context: House Hansard - 299 - Apr/15/24

Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Apr/15/24 7:55:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to respond to the comments made by the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes regarding Sustainable Development Technology Canada. We have taken the responsible and prudent actions necessary to investigate the claims that are being presented to us. These processes are well under way. The party opposite needs to understand that proper due diligence takes time and that the appropriate measures are in place to allow these processes to play out. ISED has temporarily frozen SDTC's funding and has appointed a legal agent to review the organization's HR practices. The minister has also accepted the resignation of the board chair. On the matter of a potential conflict of interest situation with the appointment of the former chair of SDTC's board of directors, the department was made aware of the situation prior to her appointment in 2019. Prior to the finalization of her appointment, Ms. Verschuren completed a conflict of interest review with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. A further review of conflict of interest practices is being conducted by the Auditor General. Innovation, Science and Economic Development is now in the process of finalizing the assessment of SDTC's response to the “Management Response and Action Plan” issued by the department to address the recommendations in the Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton report. This includes ensuring that there are appropriate oversight measures in place to provide for ongoing compliance monitoring. Funding will not be restored until the minister is fully satisfied that SDTC has fully implemented the necessary corrective measures. The facts matter. Our actions will continue to be informed by the proper due diligence. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is prepared to take additional measures in response to any findings or recommendations that may result from the legal review of SDTC's human resource practices, from the audit by the Auditor General and from the Ethics Commissioner's investigation. SDTC is an organization that wants to get back to supporting Canadian innovators in the clean-tech sector, and this government is committed to supporting Canada's innovative clean-tech industries. This is a sector that is crucial to ensuring Canada and the world meet our 2030 and 2050 climate commitments, and I am confident we are on the right path with the implementation of the corrective measures, the review of SDTC's human resource management, the AG's audit and the Ethics Commissioner's investigation. I think the party opposite should allow the due process to take its course as we remain prepared to take the necessary actions.

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Context: House Hansard - 299 - Apr/15/24

Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Apr/15/24 8:04:16 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reassure the member that we are taking the allegations seriously. As the hon. member is aware, the CBSA initiated an internal investigation as soon as there were allegations of inappropriate contracting practices. The matter was also referred to the RCMP for investigation. Contracts with three companies involved, including GC Strategies, have also been suspended through a stop work order from Public Services and Procurement Canada. We expect procurement practices to be followed properly, and anyone who does not follow contracting rules will face appropriate consequences. This has been and always will be the case. The procurement ombud and the Auditor General's reports have identified unacceptable gaps in management processes, roles and controls. Some recommendations have already been implemented, and the CBSA is taking further action to ensure that practices are aligned with policies and meet the expectations that Canadians have. Need I remind the hon. member of the context in which the app was developed? The CBSA needed to develop and launch this app as quickly as possible at the request of the Public Health Agency of Canada, after a global pandemic was declared in March 2020. The CBSA was working as quickly as possible to replace a paper process that was not meeting public health needs and was also impacting the border with significant wait times that disrupted the essential flow of people and goods. I wish to point out that the Auditor General did recognize, in her report, that the government improved the speed and quality of information collected at the border by using the ArriveCAN app rather than a paper-based format. The ArriveCAN app was an essential tool at the time to collect mandatory health information while facilitating travel and trade. The government is taking steps to ensure that all departments are better positioned to undertake projects of this nature in the future. In wrapping up my remarks, I want to emphasize that this should not detract from the commendable efforts of frontline border officers and all CBSA personnel, who diligently serve and protect Canadian citizens on a daily basis and in support of our country's economy. The government remains committed to acting on the findings of all audits, reviews and investigations.

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