Marie-Hélène Gaudreau

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Madam Speaker, some are attentive, while others are less so. My colleagues would do well to listen and learn from what I have to say today. Last week in the House I spoke to Bill C-40, which seeks to create a Crown corporation for defence procurement. I was saying that creating the Crown corporation would be the end of transparency, accountability and the disclosure of choices and interests. I was also saying that I was concerned that the government would shirk responsibility for a decision that, in my opinion, was inconsistent and ill-advised. As far as today’s proceedings are concerned, I commend the Conservative Party’s initiative on this issue, because this decision highlights exactly what I was talking about last week. Earlier, I mentioned that I had served as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, but I am also vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. My job as the Bloc Québécois critic for procurement is to shed light on government contracts. The committee has a mandate to examine the technical aspects and the governance of choices and decisions. I met with some commissionaires this summer. I met with Marc Parent. I was shocked to learn that the government was planning on ending the long-standing tradition of hiring commissionaires for security services. The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires has a long history, just recently celebrating their 100th anniversary. I was proud to be the critic for veterans affairs for a year, and I know the Minister of Veterans Affairs is passionate and dedicated to helping veterans transition into civilian life. A study on entrepreneurship is currently under way, and prior learning is being recognized. How can we help veterans make the transition easier? Now veterans, the ones who are commissionaires, are being told that they do not matter, that they are not important enough to the government and that the government no longer believes in the core mission. They are being told that this contract is ending and that the government has decided instead to award it to an American company that has branches in Canada. We need to be careful. How far does the buy Canadian policy go when it comes to doing business with Canadians? The Liberals are telling us that this was an independent decision by the CRA and so no one is accountable. No one is responsible for this. This just goes to show that the government wants to create corporations and agencies so that it can wash its hands of responsibility for decisions. That way, if people are unhappy, then it is not the government’s responsibility. That is what is happening here. This decision has serious consequences in terms of the message that it sends not only to our veterans but also to all legislators. That is a big part of our role. I often talk about my role as a legislator because I do not think that people really understand it. Parliament is made up of elected officials from the government party and from the opposition parties. Our role, as the opposition, is to hold the government to account on behalf of the people we represent. We must ensure that the use of tax dollars and the government’s decisions and policies are in keeping with the best interests of citizens. The government is taking away parliamentarians’ ability to do their job for the sake of efficiency, but efficiency should not come at the cost of a loss of democratic oversight. That oversight is at the very heart of who we are. It is the same thing with Canada Post. Canada Post is a Crown corporation. When we ask questions, the government tells us that the board of directors is responsible for decisions. That is an easy and convenient answer. However, Canada Post is in an untenable financial situation and has been for many years. We all know that. Meanwhile, bonuses continued to flow freely even as the government was being called upon to cover the deficits. The lack of transparency at Canada Post prevented parliamentarians, Quebeckers, Canadians and employees from obtaining a true, clear and accurate picture of the situation facing the Crown corporation. It was under my leadership that the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates launched a study of Canada Post. Despite our responsibility for overseeing public funds, we have been learning about changes at Canada Post through press releases and push notifications. That is not normal. It shows a blatant lack of respect for Parliament and for our democratic institutions. The same can be said of the Crown corporation responsible for defence procurement. The government will tell us that decisions to purchase a particular aircraft, vessel or tank will be made by its board of directors. Billions of dollars will be invested in strengthening Canada’s defence capabilities as the federal government seeks to meet NATO’s target. Such procurement decisions must be subject to rigorous oversight. Let me be clear: taxpayers’ money is not private money. When I spend money in my own businesses, I am free to do so and I bear the consequences. When it is my money, it is my business. That is not the case here. Public funds come from taxes and are entrusted to government through a social contract between citizens and the state to support the core functions of government. When a government shirks certain democratic responsibilities in the name of efficiency, it is our duty to sound the alarm, ask questions and spark the necessary debates. The government is constantly running ads across all platforms, and that worries me greatly. Constituents regularly raise the issue when I am back in my riding. Slogans such as “build Canada strong” are everywhere. We are told that Canada must become its own best customer. The trouble is that it increasingly appears to be little more than a slogan, an ad campaign. Canadians are constantly being encouraged to believe they are the best, yet the government continues to award contracts to the lowest bidder. In committee last week, the procurement ombud told members that it is imperative to ensure that government measures do not undermine Parliament’s ability to do its job. He is concerned, and said so a number of times. Any such measures must respect the responsibilities entrusted to members of Parliament. It will come as no surprise to anyone that the Prime Minister is running Canada like a business. A government is not a business. A government has obligations, including the obligation to be accountable to its citizens and carry out its moral duties. I am seriously concerned about these abuses. Our role as parliamentarians is to bring things to light and hold the government to account. Our role is also to ask hard questions and demand answers. That is why I am calling on members not to look away, but to pay attention to what is happening and to what the government is doing.