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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 301

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24
Mr. Blake Desjarlais
  • Apr/17/24 5:03:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Office of the Procurement Ombud said that “overly restrictive”, “mandatory [solicitation] criteria...favoured [GC Strategies] for “a $25-million contract”. GC Strategies had been involved in the development of their requirements, which were included by the CBSA in a request for proposal for a contract ultimately won by Mr. Firth. To be clear, Mr. Firth's company, GC Strategies, by evidence of the ombudsman, participated in the recommendations set out in a request for proposal to which Mr. Firth's company applied and was awarded a contract. Does Mr. Firth understand that the Auditor General concluded in that investigation that there was no evidence to the effect that GC Strategies supplied a proposal even to get this contract? Can Mr. Firth please explain how the information was requested, who from the CBSA requested the information related to a contract like the one they were a recipient of, and what aspects of that proposal did Mr. Firth supply for requirement?
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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • Apr/17/24 5:19:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. Firth claimed today that it is common practice for clients to request and to receive suggestions about the content of RFPs from those who bid on them. How many times, since 2015, has GC Strategies provided these kinds of suggestions to government clients regarding RFPs that it then bid on?
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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • Apr/17/24 5:22:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, why did the government go to GC Strategies for this sort of advice? How did GC Strategies become a favoured contractor and adviser regarding RFPs to the Government of Canada?
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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24
Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 5:24:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just my holdco, which is the 50% owner of GC Strategies.
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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24
Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 5:24:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my holdco is a numbered company that was used to register the name GC Strategies.
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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24
Mr. Alain Therrien
  • Apr/17/24 5:29:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if I may, I will draw a conclusion based on what we have heard today. There is nothing unusual in having the Canada Border Services Agency do business with GC Strategies and give it $19 million, without ascertaining that GC Strategies' employees have any exceptional skills or the skills needed to obtain or disclose a contract. We also have to consider it acceptable for public servants to receive gifts, although it is unclear whether this occurs before or after the contracts are awarded. We also have to accept that GC Strategies helps draft calls for tenders because the Canada Border Services Agency lacks the skill to identify its own needs and criteria when it comes to developing calls for tenders. That is very disturbing. We are being asked to believe that paying someone $84,000 for nothing is normal. The witness actually said that he had not done anything to earn this $84,000, but that it was normal. Now people are wondering whose fault it is. Perhaps the Canada Border Services Agency is to blame. This may be the tip of the iceberg, but it is not normal. The Auditor General noted that it was the worst record-keeping she had ever seen. That is not normal. Now the Canada Border Services Agency is working on an import registration system, known as CARM. The House of Commons committee has found a number of irregularities. It is worrisome that this agency is continuing its work after what we have heard today. Let us focus more on the Canada Border Services Agency and the government's responsibility to ensure that that agency is put under third-party management and that steps are taken to recover the taxpayer money that was spent for reasons we do not understand.
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