QUESTION PERIOD — Public Services and Procurement
Procurement Process
February 12, 2024
Leader, last week, when I asked you why the Trudeau government rigged the system in favour of the two-person firm GC Strategies, you said that you did not accept the premise of my question. But the Auditor General’s report confirms the $60 million ArriveCAN app was rigged from the start when GC Strategies was given a non-competitive contract with no record of a request or a proposal. Then, in May 2022, GC Strategies was actually involved in creating the requirements for a competitive contract.
Leader, we learned today that GC Strategies got $19.1 million from the Trudeau government. I will ask again: Why was the system rigged in favour of GC Strategies, and what specific actions are being taken to get back taxpayers’ money?
Thank you for the question. The Auditor General’s report reveals, quite clearly, that there was involvement in the drafting of the specification. This is precisely why the investigations that are under way are necessary and important to find out exactly what happened, who was responsible and who should be held accountable among those who were actually involved in a tangible way in this whole process.
The Auditor General’s report also states:
. . . We estimated that the average per diem cost for the ArriveCAN external resources was $1,090, whereas the average daily cost for equivalent IT positions in the Government of Canada was $675.
Leader, how do you explain this difference?
Thank you. Again, we thank the Auditor General for her report and for shining a light on the practices that took place. The investigations and the actions the Canada Border Services Agency has already taken will provide the answers in due course.
