QUESTION PERIOD — Public Services and Procurement
Procurement Process
December 11, 2024
Leader, on Friday The Globe and Mail reported that Accenture’s contracts with Export Development Canada, or EDC, go far beyond the $313 million in sole-source contracts it was given to run the Canada Emergency Business Account, or CEBA, loans program. In 2019, Accenture was awarded about $10 million in contracts. By April 16 of this year, that figure grew to an astonishing $620 million, including multiple contracts for IT services. If all contracts with Accenture are paid in full between now and 2028, these external consultants will have received more than $1 billion from taxpayers.
Leader, does your government dispute these figures obtained by The Globe and Mail, and if not, how can you possibly defend them?
Thank you very much for your question. As I have mentioned in this chamber on other occasions, what is important to remember is that the Canada Emergency Business Account and the program that this government introduced and was passed in Parliament helped to keep nearly 900,000 small businesses across the country afloat during the most challenging health crisis that any of us have experienced. It not only helped these businesses stay afloat but also helped keep the workers on the payroll, and through that gave their families the ability to put food on their table and keep themselves sheltered.
As I’ve also mentioned, Export Development Canada, which was the arm’s-length Crown corporation responsible for administrating CEBA, independently awarded this contract. Canadians should be grateful that they were helped through this period through this program.
We’re talking about accountability and its importance for taxpayers. Last week, you told me Minister Freeland raised her concerns about Accenture’s CEBA contracts with the president of the EDC, yet the Auditor General said her department “. . . did not provide effective oversight . . . .” of $313 million in contracts.
Leader, why should Canadians believe the other $700 million is being managed properly?
The government thanks the Auditor General for her work, but again, we must remember that these programs were put into place quickly, with eyes wide open, in order to ensure that Canadians could get the help they needed in this time of national crisis.
