Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Hello and thank you for being here with us, minister.

Government procurement has reached nearly $22 billion a year. That is a lot of money. Some companies that are making efforts to incorporate recycled items and, more generally, to accelerate the transition to a circular economy are complaining that your procurement process doesn’t include incentives for this.

I know that the government has a policy on green procurement, but I gather that these criteria are not always enforced. Is that right? Is it just one criterion among hundreds of others, or is it a priority?

Senator Miville-Dechêne: I understand what you’re saying, but there is a policy. A future government could repeal or modify that environmental policy.

My question is, do you think these criteria on the environment and the circular economy should be enshrined in the Financial Administration Act to make them a priority — a real priority — and a requirement in government procurement?

As you pointed out, this way of dealing with procurement processes is based on regulations or policies. In both cases, it’s easy to make changes. It is easy for future governments to change policies. If we want to ensure that the way we’re currently addressing Canadians’ environmental concerns will continue in the future, it might be worth considering other ways of doing things.