44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 5, 2024 02:00PM
- Jun/5/24 2:59:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course Canada has among the toughest, most stringent ethics and conflict of interest provisions in the world for public office holders. The minister in question appeared yesterday before committee for one hour and answered all of those questions.
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- Jun/5/24 2:59:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is no trace of this other Randy. Global News cannot find him, the COO claims there is this other Randy, but, conveniently, has forgotten his last name and the minister cannot identify him among a handful of employees. This is a farce. Everyone knows who Randy is.
Will the minister just stand up and admit it is him?
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- Jun/5/24 3:00:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will repeat it in French for the member: Canada has among the most stringent ethics and conflict of interest provisions in the world for public office holders.
The minister in question appeared yesterday before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics for one hour and answered all of those questions.
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- Jun/5/24 3:00:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal minister from Edmonton wants Canadians to think that he is not breaking the law, but he was cashing cheques from a company that was lobbying his government and a company that he owns 50% of was winning government contracts using his name as the minister. He is not allowed to do either.
In a Global News report this week, text messages reveal someone named Randy at his company was part of a $500,000 fraud. The minister said it was not him, that it was the other Randy. Of course, it was.
Who is the other Randy and what is his last name?
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- Jun/5/24 3:01:03 p.m.
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I would caution members to be careful in using the proper names of individuals in the chamber.
The hon. government House leader.
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- Jun/5/24 3:01:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I, of course, just answered that question, so I would invite the member to move on.
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- Jun/5/24 3:01:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have the same suspicion as the Speaker does, that in fact there is perhaps some concern about using the member's name, but while the government House leader wants to hide his member, I am going to run through a scenario here. What are the chances that the other Randy is just the minister from Edmonton in a rubber nose and a stick-on moustache? I would say about 100%. He broke the Conflict of Interest Act, he broke the Lobbying Act, he broke the Criminal Code.
We want to know. Will the real Randy please stand up?
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- Jun/5/24 3:02:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I, of course, just answered all—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/5/24 3:02:22 p.m.
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Order. That is enough.
The hon. government House leader.
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- Jun/5/24 3:02:28 p.m.
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Indeed, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for that. That is beneath the dignity of this place, where we presume all members are honourable.
The member in question spent an hour at committee yesterday answering questions from the member and other members. Of course, I know the member will continue to ask those questions and I will give the same answer. We have a very strict code of conflict of interest and ethics in this country and all ministers are expected to comply with that.
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- Jun/5/24 3:03:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Auditor General confirmed what has been suspected for months. She tabled three reports, each with the same damning finding: The Liberals have completely lost control of the machinery of government. Contracts are being awarded without tenders and without justification, payments are being made to companies before anything is even delivered, funds are being paid out for ineligible projects, and money is being spent without oversight.
This brings us back to the question we have been asking for months. While the Liberals are busy trying to take over governing Quebec and the provinces, who is governing Canada?
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- Jun/5/24 3:03:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me the opportunity to thank the Auditor General of Canada once again for her important work on this and many other files.
Yesterday, we heard the Auditor General reach findings that are very similar, and at times identical, to the findings of reports that the government published about a year ago. Based on these previous shared findings, we have been taking action for over a year now to end the standing offers with McKinsey and all similar companies.
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- Jun/5/24 3:04:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the McKinsey case reveals a culture of decadence within the federal government.
The Auditor General has confirmed that, out of the $200 million in contracts awarded to McKinsey, 71% were untendered, 58% were unmonitored and, for 24% of the contracts audited, the federal government has no idea what was done. This is scandalous.
The report makes only one recommendation: that all federal organizations identify actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
Will the government finally take real action?
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- Jun/5/24 3:04:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's recommendations are indeed very similar, and often identical, to those that have already been published and have been known for several months.
We have been taking significant action for more than a year now on the issues my colleague mentioned. It bears saying not only that we will continue the work, but that it is important to do so to ensure the integrity of all procurement processes and the confidence Canadians have in those processes.
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- Jun/5/24 3:05:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General released another report yesterday about another Liberal scandal. This time, it is was about Sustainable Development Technology Canada's green fund.
According to the report, administrators gave themselves funding 186 times, $123 million was paid out inappropriately, and half of that should never have been paid out in the first place.
There is only one way to get to the bottom of this situation. Does the minister agree with our proposal to have the RCMP investigate?
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- Jun/5/24 3:05:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives, that is for sure. We have been very clear. The moment the allegations were made, we launched investigations, one by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton and one by the law firm McCarthy Tétrault.
Members know that this is an organization created by Parliament 20 years ago that operates at arm's length from the government. In light of the allegations, we suspended the funding, and the chair of the board and the CEO both resigned.
Now we have a new governance model. The activities will be transferred to the National Research Council. We are committed to the highest standards of governance and that is exactly—
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- Jun/5/24 3:06:38 p.m.
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The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.
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- Jun/5/24 3:06:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the same report, a senior official accuses this government of outright incompetence and says that the scandal rivals the sponsorship scandal, a phrase that brings back bad memories for all Canadians, especially the Liberal Party.
I urge the minister to tread carefully, because on November 11, the whistle-blower said, “The minister said, on the record and multiple times, that he was briefed on the outcome only on August 27, but that's definitively not true. He lied at the ethics committee.”
Who should we believe, the whistle-blower or the minister?
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- Jun/5/24 3:07:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the people watching us know that the Conservatives are asleep at the wheel. Those comments serve no purpose.
We launched the investigation though an independent body created by Parliament 20 years ago. Canadians watching at home are reasonable people. They know that a responsible government launches investigations and acts on the findings. That is exactly what we did.
What we are proposing to Canadians today is a new governance model within the National Research Council of Canada in order to continue helping our SMEs, to continue fighting climate change and, above all, to continue moving the country forward.
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- Jun/5/24 3:07:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the AG's report proves again that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost or corruption. The report reveals massive corruption at the green slush fund, highlighting the misappropriation of $76 million through 90 cases of conflict of interest. The directors sat at a table and awarded millions of dollars to their friends and to their own business interests. All the while, more and more Canadians are hungry and homeless.
The question is simple: What plan does the minister have to get that money back?
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