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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. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:16:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we were the 24%; we were not the 76%. We did recruit over 50 people to work on the ArriveCAN application and over 100 people in totality at CBSA. The answer is that we did as we were told. We invoiced monthly. At any time, we could have been stopped. This was not that we were given $20 million and then walked away to build an app. This was not our app. We were paid to recruit and find the resources who built the app within 20 days and did subsequent new releases for 18 months on time and on budget.
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The Speaker
  • Apr/17/24 4:16:59 p.m.
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This concludes the first round of questioning. Would Mr. Firth like a pause before the House proceeds to the next round?
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Mr. Kristian Firth (Partner)
  • Apr/17/24 4:17:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yes, I would, please.
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The Speaker
  • Apr/17/24 4:17:14 p.m.
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The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair.
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The Speaker
  • Apr/17/24 4:28:32 p.m.
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Order. The House will resume now. Before we continue with our business, there is some other business I have to get done. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Calgary Rocky Ridge, Carbon Pricing; the hon. member for Kitchener Centre, Persons with Disabilities; and the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands, Carbon Pricing. The House will now proceed to the second round of questions. Each recognized party will have 10 minutes. I wish to remind hon. members that all questions are to be addressed through the Chair. The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.
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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)
  • Apr/17/24 4:29:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the witness what allegations were made by Botler AI that resulted in an RCMP search of his home this week.
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Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:30:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the allegations. There were six points on the search warrant and they were not very specific to any specific allegations, but from previous testimony, I am understanding that it was fraudulent billing and résumé fraud.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • Apr/17/24 4:30:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the witness, Mr. Firth, is here in the wake of the Liberal scandal involving the Prime Minister's ArriveCAN application. It is an app that was supposed to cost $80,000, but ended up costing $60 million. Did the Liberal government, who paid tens of millions of dollars for work that was not done, contact Mr. Firth?
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Mr. Michael Barrett
  • Apr/17/24 4:30:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was no English translation for the member's question.
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The Speaker
  • Apr/17/24 4:31:06 p.m.
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It seems there was English translation for the first question, but not the second question. I will ask the member for Mégantic—L'Érable to ask his second question again.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • Apr/17/24 4:31:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the witness, Mr. Firth, is here in the wake of the Liberal scandal involving the Prime Minister's ArriveCAN application. It is an app that was supposed to cost $80,000, but ended up costing $60 million. Did the Liberal government, who paid tens of millions of dollars for work that was not done, ask Mr. Firth to reimburse the money or contact him to find a way to do so?
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Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:31:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no, I was not contacted.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • Apr/17/24 4:31:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the witness, Mr. Firth, either refused to answer questions or lied to the parliamentary committee after we learned that the Prime Minister's government had made him a multimillionaire on the backs of taxpayers. Can the witness affirm today in the House that he did not lie before the parliamentary committee?
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Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:32:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, acknowledging the fact that I am being admonished and am making history right now, I think I have acknowledged the fact that I made mistakes in the previous committee.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • Apr/17/24 4:32:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can Mr. Firth tell us exactly when he lied?
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Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:32:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not have the exact information. Again, I am not being elusive. I just cannot allude to which questions, what time and which month.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • Apr/17/24 4:32:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, the witness lied repeatedly in committee and that is why we are here today to try to find out the truth. Can Mr. Firth confirm that he purposely avoided naming his sources within the Liberal government to protect his lucrative business model, which resulted from the Liberal government's lax procurement processes?
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Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:33:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no, I did not.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • Apr/17/24 4:33:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can Mr. Firth confirm that the three quotations on the GC Strategies website were anonymous at the request of the authors of those quotations?
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Mr. Kristian Firth
  • Apr/17/24 4:33:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that was requested.
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