44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 02:00PM
- Apr/17/24 4:06:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I too am struck by the historic nature of this moment, and I am keenly aware of our responsibility, which is a sacred responsibility, to not only seek answers on behalf of Canadians but also ensure we are not doing undue harm to the individual who is here before us. We must also ensure that we are conducting ourselves in a way that upholds the integrity, dignity and credibility of this place, which lies at the heart of our democracy. I will certainly try to uphold those values in my questioning.
We are here because of the serious allegations and revelations surrounding the procurement and execution of the ArriveCAN app, a piece of technology that incorrectly required thousands of Canadians to quarantine, that cost some $60 million and that was procured in a way that both the Auditor General and the procurement ombudsman have found was highly irregular and likely connected to misconduct on the part of the government officials who were responsible.
There are two main questions of substance that I believe we are seeking answers to today. The first dealt with Mr. Firth's misleading of the committee when it came to the question of whether he had met with government officials outside of work. The first time that question was raised at committee, Mr. Firth replied in the negative, saying that he had not met with officials outside of work. He then later provided documentation that showed he had met with three officials at some half a dozen Ottawa restaurants and breweries.
Why did he choose to mislead the committee in the first instance?
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- Apr/17/24 4:08:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question, as originally asked at committee, was a simple yes or no question: Had the individual met with government officials outside of work? Mr. Firth replied that no, he had not.
My question, which was not provided with an answer, was why he chose, in that moment, to mislead the committee.
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- Apr/17/24 4:09:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was not how many government officials or how many times. The question was a yes or no question. Had Mr. Firth met with government officials outside of work? Why did he mislead the committee by answering that question in the negative?
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- Apr/17/24 4:09:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a very difficult time accepting that answer and believing that answer to be the truth.
The other question of substance that I believe we are here to seek an answer to is with regard to which government official Mr. Firth discussed the criteria for a contract that was eventually awarded to him. I believe he has provided that name as being Diane Daly.
Can Mr. Firth confirm that this is indeed the government official with whom he discussed the contract criteria?
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- Apr/17/24 4:10:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think, for Canadians watching, this is really the most troubling of the allegations, that Mr. Firth, on behalf of his company, was involved in setting the rules and the criteria for a multi-million-dollar contract that, strangely enough, his firm was eventually awarded with.
To most Canadians, this would look like, and I will not exaggerate, a rigged system that is designed to benefit Ottawa insiders and make it more difficult for entrepreneurs and small businesses in this country to do work for the government.
Does Mr. Firth not agree?
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- Apr/17/24 4:11:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, both the Auditor General and the procurement ombudsman found that the criteria for that contract were set in such a restrictive way that only GC Strategies could have been selected as the successful bidder.
Does Mr. Firth not agree that this process is profoundly unfair?
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- Apr/17/24 4:12:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are deeply troubled by the allegations and revelations surrounding the ArriveCAN app.
Could Mr. Firth, in his own words, describe what those concerns are, precisely?
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- Apr/17/24 4:13:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at committee, when Mr. Firth was asked about which government official he discussed the contract criteria with, he refused to answer, citing the fact that the RCMP was now involved at some level in looking into the circumstances surrounding the ArriveCAN app, yet the rules of Parliament and the laws of Canada do not accept that as a valid reason to refuse to answer a question of Parliament.
Does Mr. Firth accept the fact that the rules required him, at the time, to provide a full answer to our questions at committee?
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- Apr/17/24 4:14:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in an internal investigation report by the company Botler AI, there is a characterization of a communication with Mr. Firth in which he is discussing the exorbitant commissions charged by his company for the work done by subcontractors.
In those communications, he is alleged to have said that it sucks for Canada. Does Mr. Firth recall making those comments?
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- Apr/17/24 4:14:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, given that Mr. Firth has now been brought before the bar of Parliament, and this is only the second time in our country's history that this has happened, and given the grave concerns of Canadians, I wonder if there is anything he would have done differently in his initial committee appearances to avoid the situation he now finds himself in.
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- Apr/17/24 4:15:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier, Mr. Firth said that no one has asked him to pay back the commission that he earned.
Given that the Auditor General found the government overpaid for the ArriveCAN app, that the app itself did not work and sent thousands to quarantine incorrectly, that the Auditor General has called the record-keeping around those contracts some of the worst that she has ever seen, that 76% of the subcontractors did zero or little work, that GC Strategies bills itself as a recruitment firm but does not recruit, and that Mr. Firth took $2.5 million in commission for very little work, will he give that money back?
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