QUESTION PERIOD — Public Services and Procurement
Untendered Government Contracts
November 17, 2020
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. In October, I asked you a question about a $237-million contract to manufacture 10,000 ventilators that was awarded without tender to FTI Professional Grade, a company that had been in business for less than 10 days.
Speaking on behalf of the government, you answered as follows:
The government acted responsibly to ensure that it has access to what Canadians need.
I would like to remind you that FTI Professional Grade then signed a subcontract with Baylis, a company owned by a former Liberal MP. He is a shareholder in that company and one of its top executives. Do you think it is responsible to award a contract to manufacture 10,000 ventilators to a company that had never manufactured ventilators before?
Thank you for your question. It is extremely responsible of the Government of Canada to do everything in its power to ensure Canadians’ well-being by giving them what they need, be it the equipment you just mentioned, vaccines or anything else.
It is important to remember that we are in the midst of an unexpected crisis that is like nothing we have ever experienced. The government did everything it could to provide Canadians and regions across the country with all of the equipment they needed.
You keep saying that the government acted responsibly by awarding a contract to a company that sprang up overnight and had no employees. We are talking about a $237-million contract to manufacture 10,000 ventilators, which was then subcontracted to a Liberal crony. Do you realize that this contract was awarded to a company that had never manufactured ventilators, and on top of that, the ventilators had yet to even be approved for use by Health Canada and Industry Canada?
Sorry, Senator Gold, but it is now three o’clock.
