44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 17, 2024 02:00PM
- Apr/17/24 5:29:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was inaudible for the translator.
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- Apr/17/24 5:29:50 p.m.
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I will stop the clock and ask the member to ask the question again.
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- 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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- Apr/17/24 5:31:49 p.m.
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Although there might not have been a question, if you would like to make a comment I will allow you to do so at this time.
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- Apr/17/24 5:32:02 p.m.
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- Apr/17/24 5:32:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, now that Mr. Firth is aware of the powers of Parliament, I wanted to ask whether he regrets not answering the questions that were asked of him, not once, not twice, but three times at the government operations committee.
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- Apr/17/24 5:32:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely. I sent that in writing to, I believe, all members of Parliament prior to coming here, with apologies for that.
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- Apr/17/24 5:32:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know this: Did Mr. Firth meet with any members of Parliament during the process for the RFP for the contract for ArriveCAN or during the contract process?
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- Apr/17/24 5:33:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no, I did not.
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- Apr/17/24 5:33:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know this: Has Mr. Firth, outside the committees where he has been brought formally, ever met or spoken with any members of Parliament, regardless of which party?
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- Apr/17/24 5:33:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can I speak to my counsel for a few seconds, please?
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- Apr/17/24 5:33:28 p.m.
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- Apr/17/24 5:33:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no, I have not.
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- Apr/17/24 5:33:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just to be clear, Mr. Firth has not had any private conversations, at any point, with any member of Parliament over the period of the committee hearings. I am not talking about at the committees themselves; I am talking about private conversations, hallway conversations, phone calls or anything of that nature.
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- Apr/17/24 5:34:06 p.m.
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- Apr/17/24 5:34:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have not seen a scandal like this since the ETS scandal under the Harper government. The ETS scandal cost Canadian taxpayers $400 million. The Conservatives had a majority government at the time. The Conservatives did everything they could to keep Canadians from getting the answers they were looking for. This Conservative scandal was never resolved and we never got the information.
However, this time, since we have a minority Parliament, we are getting answers about the ArriveCAN scandal. That is extremely important. It is because of the parliamentary powers we have. As we saw under the Harper regime, with a majority government, it was not possible to get answers about the $400 million the Conservatives had spent without any transparency at all, but today, we have the opportunity to get more answers, and I think that is important.
If I understood correctly, Mr. Firth stated earlier that he only influenced three things in the 220 requirements of the contracts.
Is he saying that he did not influence the contract, or is he saying that he did not influence the contract as much as is being claimed?
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- Apr/17/24 5:36:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is correct to both of those. I had no influence at all on the contract award, and I had no influence on the ArriveCAN scandal.
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- Apr/17/24 5:36:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. Firth mentioned earlier that he did in fact falsify or alter the résumés.
According to what we heard in committee, one person was said to have 13 years of experience, when that was not true. Other information about these people was also falsified.
I want to ask two questions.
First, does Mr. Firth regret the fact that those résumés were falsified?
Second, to date, the federal government has not asked for the questionable amounts to be repaid. Is Mr. Firth prepared to reimburse Canadian taxpayers for the questionable amounts of these contracts?
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- Apr/17/24 5:37:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Botler contract was in no way related to the ArriveCAN application.
Furthermore, I made a margin of zero dollars on the Botler opportunity.
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- Apr/17/24 5:37:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this historic, unprecedented occasion.
I would like to put this question to Mr. Firth. I know he will not have them with him at the moment, but will he provide to Parliament and the operations committee the full list of all website domains that he has registered or requested to be registered in pursuit of his business as an IT staffing firm?
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