- 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
- May/21/24 3:13:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows very well that there are internal investigations taking place with respect to this matter. A number of people were properly called before parliamentary committees, and they came to testify. Of course, he also knows that the RCMP is looking into this matter. He made reference to that in an overly dramatic moment as well.
The member should have the decency to let the police do its work. We have said from the beginning that anybody who misused taxpayers money will be held to account. I have confidence that the RCMP will do its work.
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- Apr/19/24 11:56:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, allow me to repeat what I said in English a moment ago: My colleague knows that an internal investigation is being conducted by the Canada Border Services Agency. Its purpose is precisely to determine the amounts of money that may have been misused. We have to wait for the facts before demanding repayments. We fully understand and share Canadians' concern about the importance of treating taxpayers' money properly. That is exactly what is going to happen.
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- Apr/19/24 11:55:40 a.m.
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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.
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- Apr/19/24 11:51:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have said, continually, and we will say it again, if people have misused taxpayers' money or have misappropriated public funds, of course efforts will be undertaken to recuperate that money. That is what a responsible government does. However, a responsible government allows the internal reviews and audits, which are under way, to determine exactly what money might be subject to the reimbursement and what the appropriate process is to have that money reimbursed. At the same time, the RCMP is also looking into this matter.
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- Apr/19/24 11:50:26 a.m.
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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.
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- Apr/19/24 11:48:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, just because my colleague on the other side of the aisle repeats something does not necessarily attach it to the facts. The facts in this case are well known.
One thing he said that is entirely factual is that the RCMP is looking into this matter. That is why I would urge people to be careful before they invent and ascribe things to what is an ongoing police investigation. Our government has said that people have a responsibility to be judicious with taxpayers' money, and those who are not will face the consequences.
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- Apr/19/24 11:21:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I said yesterday in the House, our government takes the use of taxpayers' money extremely seriously. We welcome the investigations that are taking place, including by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is well known that it publicly raided a residence earlier this week.
We have said that anybody who abuses taxpayers' money will face the consequences. Of course we will seek to recuperate all money that has been misallocated.
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- Apr/18/24 2:57:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has just repeated his previous question. I will give him the same answer.
This government always takes the use of taxpayers' money extremely seriously. We have said that, if taxpayers' money has been misplaced or mishandled, of course, the government will ask for that money to be returned and take the appropriate steps to recuperate that money.
My colleague may have taken note of the RCMP's action yesterday. In the case of individuals who have abused taxpayers' money, of course the RCMP will take the steps necessary to investigate these matters.
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- Apr/18/24 2:56:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows that the government always works collaboratively with Parliament. We have done so in many cases. In fact, parliamentary committees have also looked into this matter, and government officials have been, of course, available to answer all of their questions and provide documents.
As my colleague the Minister of Public Services and Procurement made clear, there are internal audits taking place. The RCMP is also seized with this issue. We think it would be appropriate to allow these investigations to conclude.
I can assure colleagues that the government will always take steps to recuperate taxpayers' money that was inappropriately expended and hold those accountable who have abused taxpayers' money.
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- Apr/18/24 2:47:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows that there is a series of internal audits being conducted with respect to this matter. He referred to the RCMP, which is also seized with many of these issues. They took a certain action yesterday, which we heard about in the House as well. The hon. member should have some confidence that those who have abused taxpayers' money will face the consequences; if taxpayers' money has been misplaced or mishandled, of course, the government will seek to recover those funds.
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- Apr/18/24 2:46:02 p.m.
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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.
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- Apr/16/24 3:03:58 p.m.
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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.
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- Apr/11/24 3:04:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the President of the Treasury Board and I, as the minister responsible for the Canada Border Services Agency, have already taken steps to reduce reliance on outside consultants. We have reviewed and changed the process for approving these kinds of contracts.
We will continue to look at everything necessary to ensure that taxpayers' money is well spent. The people who are responsible for these decisions know they will be held accountable in the case of misuse or abuse.
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- Apr/11/24 3:03:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, the Canada Border Services Agency is conducting internal reviews on the matter. The RCMP is also looking into the questions. We have said that anybody who has misused or abused taxpayers' funds will be held accountable, and we look forward to the processes' coming to their conclusion.
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- Mar/18/24 3:05:55 p.m.
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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.
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- Mar/18/24 3:04:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, our government has been transparent with Canadians and with Parliament. We have had officials and ministers appear before parliamentary committees. We understand the concern that Canadians have around the appropriate use of taxpayers' money.
In spite of my friend's pessimism, I do not share his view. This government will always continue to be transparent with Canadians around this matter.
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- Feb/27/24 3:08:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just because my hon. friend asserts something with manufactured indignation does not make it true. What we have said from the beginning is that we take the responsibility to manage taxpayers' money very seriously. That is why, when the border services agency identified irregularities, it began an internal investigation and referred the matter, as is appropriate, to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Our government will always do what is necessary to hold everyone who may have misused taxpayers' money to account.
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- Feb/27/24 3:07:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our government has said from the beginning that those who misused taxpayers' money will be held to account. Once the investigations that the CBSA, for example, ordered internally and the RCMP report is completed, if money was misappropriated, of course the government will take all the steps to recoup that money.
We have said from the beginning that anybody who mishandles taxpayers' money will face the consequences, and that is exactly what this government is doing.
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- Feb/27/24 2:53:14 p.m.
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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.
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- Feb/15/24 2:34:44 p.m.
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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.
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