Discussion · Government Orders
Christine Normandin Bloc Québécois
“An eighty thousand dollar contract should not have gone to a foreign company. But buying Canadian is not always the cheapest option. I want my colleague to explain how the rules should balance that, and what the targets for buying Canadian actually mean.”
“Madam Speaker, it seems obvious to me that, for $80,000, the contract should not have been awarded to a foreign company. That said, I would like to ask my colleague some questions about the flexibility needed to justify keeping a contract in Canada, even when doing so is not the most competitive option from a strictly economic standpoint. Has my colleague given any thought to that aspect of the issue? As members know, there is a buy Canadian policy, but even that is rather vague in terms of what it actually entails. For example, when we talk about 70% of contracts, are we talking about the number of contracts or the value of those contracts? I would appreciate some clarification from my colleague on that point.”
Madam Speaker, it seems obvious to me that, for $80,000, the contract should not have been awarded to a foreign company. That said, I would like to ask my colleague some questions about the flexibility needed to justify keeping a contract in Canada, even when doing so is not the most competitive option from a strictly economic standpoint. Has my colleague given any thought to that aspect of the issue? As members know, there is a buy Canadian policy, but even that is rather vague in terms of what it actually entails. For example, when we talk about 70% of contracts, are we talking about the number of contracts or the value of those contracts? I would appreciate some clarification from my colleague on that point.