Senator Plett: I asked for a name, and I still didn’t receive it.

In recent weeks, we’ve heard that 1,700 emails related to “ArriveScam” have been deleted. Last Thursday, a House committee heard that the number of deleted emails could be much higher — in the tens of thousands. Which figure is correct, leader? How many “ArriveScam” emails were deleted to try to hide this corruption and waste under this Trudeau government?

Senator Plett: You provide information that isn’t correct, it’s misinformation, leader. You are constantly lecturing us here about misinformation — the Conservatives — but here we have a blatant example of misrepresentation, mismanagement and secrecy, leader. The Trudeau government is not worth the cost and will never fix our budget.

What is the current total of these contracts now, leader? Is it more than $208 million?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Point of order, please. I would like Senator Gold to read that Notice of Motion in English. The translation was very poor at the start of it, and I could not understand.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Government leader, my question concerns, again, the failed $60 million “ArriveScam” app. Last week, two senior officials who have been suspended in relation to the “ArriveScam” told a committee of the other place that there is an ongoing cover-up related to this scandal.

Liberal MPs have shut down committee meetings into “ArriveScam,” including a meeting last fall, just as the Auditor General was about to testify. Last week, Liberal MPs filibustered a motion to compel the two-man GC Strategies to appear before the committee or face arrest by the Sergeant-at-Arms.

The Trudeau government is certainly acting like it has something to hide — is it not, leader? Who gave the order to shut down the meetings and stall for time? I want the name, please.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): My next question concerns the secret contracts given to Accenture to run the Canada Emergency Business Account, or CEBA, loans program, leader, for small businesses.

The Trudeau government originally claimed the vast majority of the workforce was based in Canada with just four employees in the United States. Then late last year, an answer to one of my questions on the Senate Order Paper — which I don’t get very often — led to the discovery that work on the loan accounting system for this program is, in fact, being done in Brazil. Last month, the Trudeau government admitted to The Globe and Mail that about one third of all employees working on this program are based in Brazil through an Accenture subsidiary.

Leader, why did your government provide Canadians misinformation about these contracts?