- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs
- Liberal
- Beauséjour
- New Brunswick
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $117,680.95
- Government Page
- Apr/19/24 11:58:05 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the same question begets the same answer. We have said from the beginning that the government has welcomed the scrutiny of parliamentary committees. We have worked with the Auditor General and have implemented her recommendations. My colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, has changed the way that these contracts are awarded and the oversight provisions.
We will continue to do what is necessary to ensure taxpayers' money is well spent, and we will continue to obviously hold those to account who do not follow the rules.
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/19/24 11:55:40 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague knows very well that the idea that the government has not been transparent is untrue. I know he wants to repeat that, but he knows very well that it not the case.
We have worked with parliamentary committees. We have worked with the Auditor General. We completely agree with the idea that all those who have obtained taxpayers' money in an inappropriate way should be required to pay it back. Of course, as my colleague well knows, the RCMP is also investigating this situation.
89 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/19/24 11:50:26 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I had a chance earlier in today's question period to answer that question, and I am happy to do it again.
Our government has worked with the Auditor General's Office and with parliamentary committees. There is an internal investigation being conducted by the Border Services Agency. All these investigations will, unlike some of our friends on the other side, establish the facts of what happened.
Anybody who has misused taxpayers' money will be required to repay it, and anybody who has misused taxpayers' money will face the consequences. That is why we are pleased that the RCMP is looking into this matter.
106 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/18/24 2:48:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I have told our colleague before, he is well aware that investigations are under way, including an RCMP investigation. Internal audits are also under way. My colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, changed certain rules in response to the Auditor General's report.
Furthermore, we have always said that anyone who abuses taxpayer money will have to face the consequences. Obviously, the government will undertake the necessary processes to recover these funds.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/18/24 2:46:02 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. friend knows, there are internal audits being conducted by the CBSA. The RCMP is looking into this matter. The Auditor General has done a report, and we have accepted the recommendations; my colleague from public services and procurement has changed many of the rules around these types of contracts.
We have also said from the beginning that anybody who abused taxpayers' money will face the consequences, and the government will always seek to recover taxpayers' money that was spent inappropriately.
85 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/16/24 3:06:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows very well that we have instituted a series of changes in terms of the procurement process both at CBSA and horizontally across the Government of Canada.
My colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, has spoken about the changes we have made in light of the recommendations of the Auditor General. We welcome other reviews, whether it is parliamentary committees. In the case of ArriveCAN, as we know, the RCMP are looking into this matter.
As I said, anybody who abused taxpayer money will properly face the consequences.
95 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/16/24 3:03:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that there are investigations under way. The House decided to summon someone to answer questions. That is all part of the responsibilities of the House of Commons. We are open to that.
We have also said from the beginning that we are open to a careful review of this situation, whether it be by the Auditor General, the RCMP or parliamentary committees. Anyone who has misused taxpayers' money will face the consequences.
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/11/24 3:03:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, again, our colleague's repeating something does not make it factual. She knows very well that the Auditor General has looked into these matters. We have welcomed parliamentary committee reviews. People have been available, including senior government officials, to go before a parliamentary committee—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
52 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/18/24 3:05:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, there are internal investigations being conducted into all these matters. We welcome the report of the Auditor General. The RCMP is investigating some elements of this matter. If at any time people have misused taxpayers' money or contractors have claimed taxpayers' money for work they did not complete, of course the government will demand refunds as is appropriate.
66 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/27/24 3:00:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again, I am glad that my colleague has noticed something that has been common knowledge for some weeks now.
My colleague, the Minister of Procurement, clearly indicated that the Auditor General had investigated some troubling circumstances surrounding contracts awarded by the Canada Border Services Agency.
Obviously, the government's responsibility is to ensure that measures are in place to prevent this from happening again and to co‑operate with the law enforcement officials who will be investigating the matter.
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/27/24 2:53:14 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague learned something today that has been known in the public domain for a number of weeks.
We have said from the beginning that the government's responsibility is to ensure that taxpayers' money is always managed well. In this case, the Auditor General identified a number of opportunities that needed to be investigated and where the government will follow all of the recommendations. If people have done something inappropriate with taxpayers' money, they will be held to account.
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/27/24 2:49:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, not only will the government co-operate with the RCMP at every occasion, but it was also the government that referred a number of these cases to the RCMP. My friend has just realized what the RCMP confirmed some weeks ago, which is that it is looking into the issue of ArriveCAN.
Our government thinks it is important that the Auditor General's report be followed carefully, and we think it is important for parliamentary committees and other investigations to determine the facts of the issue before we throw mud around the House of Commons.
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/24 2:34:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it does not take a warrant for Canadians to see that the government has been transparent, both with the Auditor General and with parliamentary committees.
The facts may bother my friend, but he knows very well that the Auditor General is empowered to do all of this important work. We have accepted the report of the Auditor General. We acted on a number of recommendations before receiving the report because we asked the procurement ombudsperson to look into this matter. We value the importance of respecting taxpayers' money and will always do that.
95 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/24 2:33:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it may surprise my hon. friend, but the government does not actually direct the national police in terms of investigations. We have confidence that the RCMP will take the important responsibility it has seriously and do all of the work that is required. We have complete faith in the RCMP's independence and in its ability to look into all these matters.
More importantly, the government is also always available to work with parliamentary committees and the Auditor General's Office to ensure that every document is available so this important matter can be resolved.
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/24 2:23:13 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we thought that this level of exaggeration would be exclusive to the Leader of the Opposition. I cannot speak for Mr. Mulcair.
What I can tell Canadians is that the government takes these circumstances extraordinarily seriously. We accept the recommendations of the Auditor General. We have at all times worked with parliamentary committees and senior officials to ensure that they have the tools necessary to investigate these matters and, of course, to hold to account those who may have done something inappropriate.
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/24 2:21:56 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that the government is collaborating with parliamentary committees and the Office of the Auditor General. The Border Services Agency is doing an internal review, an investigation with respect to many of these matters, and officials have from the very beginning referred, to the RCMP, any and all information they think might be appropriate for the RCMP to investigate.
The government will always cooperate with these lawful authorities to ensure that they can do the work that Canadians properly expect them to do.
92 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/12/24 2:52:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that a global pandemic and the rush to put in place a series of measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians does not exclude public servants from following the appropriate contracting rules that are in place.
We agree with the Auditor General when she says that the rules were not followed in a way that was acceptable. As we have said, we are putting in place and already have put in place a series of measures to ensure that the circumstance is never repeated.
93 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/12/24 2:43:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, again, my colleague can repeat a series of things that the facts do not bear out, but what we can say is that the government takes extremely seriously the obligation of public servants to follow the contracting rules. That is exactly what the president of the Canada Border Services Agency has assured me she is doing. She has also assured me that she had taken a series of corrective measures before today's Auditor General report and will continue to do whatever is required to ensure that taxpayers' money is always handled in the appropriate way.
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/12/24 2:40:54 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, accountability is extremely important to us as a government. That is precisely why we took all the necessary steps as soon as we became aware of allegations of inappropriate contracting practices. We conducted an internal audit, which is still in progress. We referred matters to the appropriate authorities when necessary.
We have obviously read the report released by the Auditor General today, and we will be implementing all the measures she suggests.
74 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/12/24 2:35:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Auditor General identified some contracting practices that were clearly not followed. Under no circumstance is that acceptable. Governments have the responsibility to manage taxpayers' funds in the most effective way possible. That is why we have accepted all of the Auditor General's recommendations.
The good news is that the Border Services Agency and the procurement department had already begun to act to put in place a number of oversight measures before the Auditor General's report, and we look forward to fully implementing everything she suggested.
92 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
