Oral Questions
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 …
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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 parliamentar…
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Mr. Speaker, again, if our hon. friend wants me to point out the part of his question he knows is inaccurate, it is the last sentence of the question.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that we always want to work with the parliamentary committees. I had a discussion with the president of the CBSA yesterday about the issue raised by my colleague. I am sure that the CBSA is aware of the facts of this application. I am sure that it will be managed properly.
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Mr. Speaker, just because my hon. friend continues to repeat something that he knows is not accurate does not make it so. He knows very well that a series of investigations are being undertaken. The RCMP is seized with this matter. If the House in its wisdom decides to call people before the bar, that is entirely within the purview of the House. We have also said from the beginning that anybody wh…
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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. Anyo…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we have consulted exporters and importers, and we will continue to do so. We fully understand their concerns, and that is why I raised this issue with the president of the CBSA. I do not share my Bloc Québécois colleague's pessimism. As my colleague, the Quebec lieutenant, often says, they are experts in pessimism. I do not share that pessimism, but I understand the import…
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Mr. Speaker, we have said many times in the House that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has repeated that. We have taken a series of severe measures to restrict members of the regime, including the revolutionary guard corps, from coming to Canada. With respect to listing a terrorist entity, it is national security agencies that do these reviews a…
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Mr. Speaker, we worked collaboratively with all of the opposition parties last summer to set up an independent judicial inquiry into foreign interference. There have been a number of weeks of public testimony, including this week. We did not think that, in the terms of reference, we had to put a line that would say that we should have basic respect for the integrity and independence of the commiss…
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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 ensu…
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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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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—
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Mr. Speaker, again, my colleague can repeat a series of allegations. We do not think that this is particularly constructive, when a senior court of appeal justice is seized with this very matter. She is hearing evidence from witnesses, interviewing in camera all of the relevant officials, and receiving all of the most classified documents. Why does my hon. friend not allow her to do the work and n…
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Mr. Speaker, I have never had that much applause in the House before. I share our colleague's concern about the Conservative policy with respect to gun control. We have said from the beginning that law-abiding hunters and sportspersons are not the subject of these regulations. What we are doing is taking away guns that were designed to kill people on the battlefield, and we are also prepared to co…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to salute my colleague's long service in the House on behalf of the people of northern Ontario. I share—
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows full well, our government is tackling foreign interference issues very effectively and robustly. It is widely known that the RCMP has confirmed that the specific issues raised by my colleague are the focus of a police investigation. That is the appropriate way to deal with issues like this, as they arise. We are obviously not going to comment on cases that are cu…
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Mr. Speaker, we have said for many years now that Iran is one of the most important state sponsors of terrorist activity around the world. The government has put in place a series of very robust sanctions and used immigration legislation to bar many of those people from visiting Canada. The security intelligence service and the Border Services Agency are obviously taking their responsibilities ver…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑65, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
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Mr. Speaker, our government is always focused on protecting Canadians from crime. That is why we are working with police forces, municipal authorities and provincial governments to do exactly everything we need to do to crack down on this increasingly violent criminal activity. I have had conversations with the Premier of Ontario and with police chiefs across the country. The RCMP are working in c…
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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 …
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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 i…
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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 mishand…
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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 rec…
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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 …
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Mr. Speaker, we have been saying for several weeks that the RCMP is looking into ArriveCAN. This is largely because senior CBSA officials sent documents to the RCMP and asked the RCMP to look into the matter. There are several investigations under way. We will continue to be available and to give these authorities all the documents and information they need.
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Mr. Speaker, again, the Leader of the Opposition seems to be impressed with some information that has been known in the public space for many weeks. The RCMP have confirmed, previously, that they are looking into the circumstances around ArriveCAN. We have total confidence in the RCMP to do this important work. I will remind the Leader of the Opposition that the president of the Canada Border Serv…
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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 …
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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…
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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 fo…
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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 official…
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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…
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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 receiv…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague refers to the work of a parliamentary committee. As I said in the previous answer, our government has collaborated at all times with the parliamentary committee. The president of the Canada Border Services Agency, at my suggestion, sent a copy of the preliminary internal audit to the committee. The Conservative chair decided not to share it with the members, because it mi…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the government is interested in the utmost transparency in this matter. That is why the president of the Canada Border Services Agency and her officials appeared before the committee. That is why an internal investigation was ordered. My colleague referred to a referral to the RCMP. It may surprise him, but it is not politicians who direct the operational work of the Royal …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, our government has, at the very first opportunity when these allegations were made, taken all of the appropriate steps to ensure that taxpayer money is respected. The Canada Border Services Agency president ordered an internal investigation. Those preliminary findings were shared with the committee, with which my hon. colleague is very familiar. It is too bad that the chai…
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Mr. Speaker, far from covering up, the government has co-operated with parliamentary inquiries that are looking into the matter. The government proactively sent internal audit reviews to a parliamentary committee, and the Conservative chair decided not to share them with the members. We have no lessons to take on acting in a transparent manner. We have said from the beginning that any allegations …
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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 puttin…
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Mr. Speaker, again, when the Border Services Agency was made aware of allegations around inappropriate contracting practices, the appropriate authorities were called in and an internal audit was ordered, an audit that, by the way, is still in progress. If people did something that was not appropriate or that met a criminal standard, they will obviously be held to account. The government has been v…
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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 me…
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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 Gener…
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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 …
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Mr. Speaker, again, repeating the last part of my hon. friend's question does not make it true. What is true is that at the moment contracting practice irregularities were identified, the Border Services Agency took all of the steps appropriate to determine exactly what the facts were and to hold those responsible to account in case that is necessary. The Auditor General identified a series of con…
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Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague repeats a series of allegations that are not borne out by the facts does not make them true. The facts are that the very moment that there were allegations of inappropriate contracting practices, an internal audit was begun by the president of the Canada Border Services Agency, and referrals were made to the appropriate authorities, including the RCMP. Anybo…
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Mr. Speaker, we thank the NDP leader for his question. We share his concerns about the need to manage taxpayers' money wisely. The Auditor General identified circumstances that were entirely inappropriate. That is why the Canada Border Services Agency and the Department of Public Services and Procurement have taken the necessary steps to ensure that this type of situation never happens again. We w…
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Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that the Leader of the Opposition would mention investing in border security, when his government cut 1,000 officers who did the exact kind of work that he is now pretending he wants to invest in. It eliminated 50% of the intelligence capacity in the Border Services Agency to work with local provincial police and the RCMP. We have no lessons to take in investing in bord…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well that the moment there were allegations around cost overruns or inappropriate contracting practices, the Canada Border Services Agency immediately began an internal audit and made the appropriate referrals to the appropriate authorities. We take the obligation of managing taxpayers' money very seriously. Under no circumstances would we condo…
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Mr. Speaker, we obviously read the Auditor General's report. We accept her recommendations. Perhaps the only part of the question on which I agree with my colleague opposite is that all those who are responsible for managing taxpayers' money must follow strict rules. In this case, the rules were not followed. We accept the recommendations so that we can ensure that this never happens again. We wil…
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Madam Speaker, I believe that on Thursday my colleague will take part in the summit with us. I will be very happy to work with her. One of the things we did when we came to power was restore the jobs that were lost as a result of the major cuts inflicted by Mr. Harper’s previous government, for instance at the Canada Border Services Agency, where 1,000 jobs were eliminated. Half the jobs of office…
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Mr. Speaker, the good news is that on Thursday representatives of the insurance industry will participate with auto manufacturers, people responsible for rail transportation, the ports, federal border services agents, the RCMP and provincial ministers responsible. Their police chiefs will be here. We think that if we are going to do the work that Canadians expect us to do on this important issue o…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to see my colleague's interest in our summit on Thursday. His leader had downplayed the meeting, describing it as a bunch of bigwigs nattering at a meeting in Ottawa. Personally, I would never say such a thing about the chiefs of municipal and provincial police forces and provincial ministers who want to partner with the federal government in the fight against auto t…
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