44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 30, 2024 10:00AM
- Apr/30/24 7:01:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on a question of procurement.
I want to remind my hon. colleague that it was not a Liberal government that told Canadians an outright lie, if I can say so, that the F-35 procurement project was going to cost $10 billion. It cost triple that. Who said that? It was Mr. Harper and the current leader of the official opposition who told Canadians that in 2011, and I would argue that is how they won the election. It was not a Liberal government who lied to Canadians and told them that a pay system would work and function well. It was a Conservative government, so let me set the record straight.
Let me first say that I am very proud of the public service. I am a member of Parliament who represents a lot of public servants who worked so diligently to ensure the government could deliver services and programs to Canadians during the pandemic. At the same time, it is clear that something went wrong with the procurement of professional services related to ArriveCAN. Nobody is hiding that fact, and our government is extremely concerned about the issues that have come to light. I want the member to know that we have taken and are taking action to improve our procurement processes, and we are holding companies accountable for misconduct while protecting federal expenditures.
With respect to the reports by the Auditor General and the procurement ombudsman, Public Services and Procurement Canada, or PSPC, as the central purchaser for the government, has already taken several steps to implement their recommendations and improve processes. For several years now, the department has been making progress in its plan to modernize procurement, which has long been a priority for our government. Right now, the government is firmly focused on improving and further strengthening processes, especially when it comes to IT procurement. We have been working for months to do just that. This includes strengthening guidance and training for those involved in the procurement process.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has also improved evaluation requirements to ensure resources are properly qualified and is requiring increased transparency for suppliers around their prices and their use of subcontractors. In addition, it is improving documentation when awarding contracts and issuing task authorizations. It is also clarifying work requirements and activities, and specifying which activities and which projects are worked on by contractors.
In addition, PSPC is updating its guidance to help other departments and agencies in procuring responsibly when using their own procurement instruments under their own authorities. We know that fundamentally improving IT procurement requires us to ensure that those processes are clear and transparent, and that the roles, responsibilities and rules are understood, respected and adhered to. To that end, the department is going even further to strengthen integrity in procurement by creating a new office of supplier integrity and compliance, which we now know will help the government better respond to misconduct.
We owe it to all Canadians to preserve the integrity of federal government procurement. That is why we are taking action now to strengthen and improve procurement, so that what happened in the case of ArriveCAN never happens again.
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- Apr/30/24 7:06:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can tell the member has no experience in procurement. I can tell by the language he is using that he has zero experience in procurement. I have been on the government operations committee for eight years of my life in this place. By the way, I have worked in procurement before and, though I respect him, I can tell he is just a junior in this place. He has zero credibility when it comes to advancing the issues of IT procurement.
If politicians make decisions on IT procurement, there is something wrong. We do not make them. We obviously set the governance rules, but somebody broke the rules within that department and we will hold them accountable. We have called in the RCMP, not the frantics on the other side. The CBSA referred the matter to the RCMP. Those who will be held accountable will be held accountable, and if money was misused, we will recuperate that money.
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- Apr/30/24 7:11:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the government stands with the hundreds of thousands of Canadians across the country who are affected by wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events year after year.
It is worrisome when we look at the science. Experts are clear: Climate change means wildfires, floods and hurricanes, and they will increase in numbers and intensity. Every month of the past 10 months has broken heat records. Many provinces are experiencing a period of drought. We are not even in May, yet more than 100 fires are already burning in British Columbia and Alberta.
This is paving the way of what might be, yet again, a difficult summer for Canadians. However, the member can rest assured that we take climate change seriously; we are working with our partners in the provinces and territories to make sure we are ready to face the challenges to come. We did the work and put in place the long-term funding they needed to procure firefighting material.
That is $256 million in wildland firefighting equipment to the provinces. We are also making sure that our partners have the necessary human resources on the ground. We have funded the training of 600 wildfire fighters and 125 indigenous fire guardians. These firefighters are ready to work now, and they will be on the ground this summer to protect our communities. The training program is still recruiting, and we are on pace to reach 1,000 new wildland firefighters before the end of the year.
We are also making sure that the current firefighters feel our support and appreciation. We are grateful for the work they do and the risks they take. This is why we announced that we will double the tax credit for volunteer firefighters and search and rescue. We are investing massively in civilian response capacity by investing $166.9 million in the humanitarian workforce program. We have allowed them to develop capacity, mobilize more quickly and deploy critical on-the-ground support to local governments. These organizations can leverage different capacities across jurisdictions and provide Canadians with the reliefs they need during any large-scale emergencies that follow.
Our government is also determined to tackle the effects of climate change before they impact Canadians and pose a threat to their security. With the national adaptation strategy, we are addressing local vulnerabilities and investing proactively to increase resiliency. The strategy advances significant investments in disaster-resilient infrastructure projects and in wildlife prevention. Our climate is changing with every passing year, but we will remain focused on keeping people safe while strengthening our capacity to support Canadians.
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- Apr/30/24 7:15:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know there are a lot of communities in my hon. colleague's province that go through these fires. In my neck of the woods, I do not have to go through that, but I want to assure the hon. member that our government takes this issue seriously. We are working to build local capacity.
On what he is proposing, the government has not necessarily said no. However, right now, we are focused on building local capacity, and we are providing the funding to do that. In the future, if a national firefighter force is necessary, then I am sure we will get there.
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- Apr/30/24 7:19:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have tremendous respect for my hon. colleague on the other side. There are too few members of Parliament in this place who defend farmers, and I thank him. He defends farmers, but so do I and others on this side of the House.
I want to correct the record when hon. members say that farmers get absolutely nothing back in a carbon rebate. This is something for which I fought very hard, along with my colleague from Kings—Hants, and other members from P.E.I. and Ontario. We certainly recognize there is an issue regarding natural gas and propane, but farmers are already exempt for upward of 90% of carbon pricing on their farms. They do not pay eight dollars for diesel use on farms, but they do get a rebate for natural gas and propane.
It would be useful for the hon. member to know this because I am sure he wants to share the good news. This year, farmers are eligible for a rebate of $1.86 per $1,000 of expenses on farms. I realize it is not 100% of a rebate. The problem is that the government is not aware of who is using propane or natural gas, but 100% of carbon pricing that is collected by the federal government in that particular province is returned to farmers. All of it is returned to farmers through a rebate, and that works out to $1.86 this year. As carbon pricing increases, that amount will also increase to ensure that farmers get a fair share.
On other issues the member pointed out, we recognize that input costs have gone up on farms. The Government of Canada does not control that. I will remind my hon. colleague that when the leader of the official opposition was in government and was sitting at the cabinet table, none of that was increased under his watch. I was not on the Hill, but I was close to it and watched very closely. I do not remember Conservatives advocating for an increased amount on the advance payments program's interest-free portion when input costs went up, and I will remind the member that they did go up in 2008. We recognized that during the pandemic and increased it. We went from $100,000 to $350,000. Now, we have moved to $250,000. I hope my hon. colleague will support that because he knows it is important for farmers.
Secondly, the member recognizes and understands that technology and farmers are good stewards of the land and that they are capturing carbon. We are working with farmers, and we recognize that they are doing that. Universities are working with farmers to find a proper measurement. The methane protocol that Environment Canada is working on I believe will provide an opportunity for farmers to participate in the carbon economy, which the entire world wants access to.
Lastly, we believe in SMR technology, which my hon. colleague knows. We do not just believe in wind and solar; we also believe in SMR.
The Conservatives want to axe the tax, but a tariff will be imposed because other countries are talking about a carbon import tariff. If we do not have a carbon price on pollution, then other countries will impose a tariff. I do not want to leave our farmers out. We need to act right now.
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- Apr/30/24 7:24:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that we should have a regional approach to carbon pricing. I would hope the member would advocate with his own provincial government to acknowledge that there are regional differences among jurisdictions.
I think the Prime Minister wrote a letter about a month ago and asked provinces to come up with their own plans, plans that respect our Paris Agreement and that ensure farmers do not get slapped with a carbon import tariff.
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