Discussion · Government Orders
James Bezan Conservative
“This bill gives the minister total control over the new defence agency. It also gives the minister 13 ways to skip normal bidding rules. I am asking my colleague if this bill will lead to political meddling and corruption with a billion dollars of public money.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague, as the shadow minister for defence procurement, has reviewed Bill C-40 very closely. He mentioned that paragraph 9(2) of the bill would give the associate minister for defence procurement absolute power over the Defence Investment Agency. We have never seen a Crown corporation be under the thumb of the government like this, where it “must do as the Minister directs”. Not even the CBC has that type of government influence over it as a Crown corporation. As the member said, there are 13 exceptions added in here as reasons the government, or the minister, may not want to run a competition, and in that, the minister would also be given a get-out-of-jail-free card. When we are talking about having a billion dollars at the disposal of the minister and the Defence Investment Agency, does my colleague believe that there is open opportunity here for increased political interference and corruption?”
Mr. Speaker, my colleague, as the shadow minister for defence procurement, has reviewed Bill C-40 very closely. He mentioned that paragraph 9(2) of the bill would give the associate minister for defence procurement absolute power over the Defence Investment Agency. We have never seen a Crown corporation be under the thumb of the government like this, where it “must do as the Minister directs”. Not even the CBC has that type of government influence over it as a Crown corporation. As the member said, there are 13 exceptions added in here as reasons the government, or the minister, may not want to run a competition, and in that, the minister would also be given a get-out-of-jail-free card. When we are talking about having a billion dollars at the disposal of the minister and the Defence Investment Agency, does my colleague believe that there is open opportunity here for increased political interference and corruption?