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Strengthening Canada's Defence Sector Act

Bill C-40, Strengthening Canada's Defence Sector Act · Second reading · now at committee in the House Where it stands

What Bill C-40 would do

The bill would create the Canadian Corporation for Defence Investment to handle production, buying, and investment for the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence, and partner governments. It would also expand federal buying and stockpiling powers to cover national security supplies and services. The responsible minister would gain authority to make financial investments in defence and security sectors, and new procurement rules would be set. The bill would also require a future review of these changes.

Official text

67 statements

Tamara Kronis

Conservative

Linked statement

“Some government-owned corporations are run well. But this bill needs to do a much better job of showing how this new defence corporation will be run. I just proposed specific ways to fix that.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I would submit that if the hon. member had listened to my speech, he would know that I have just proposed a number of very specific measures that I believe would enhance the governance of this particular Crown corporation. I do agree with him that there are some Crown corporations that have excellent governance mechanisms. At the moment, on the surface of the bill before us, I think there is much room for improvement.

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Sébastien Lemire

Bloc Québécois
“This bill turns the Defence Investment Agency into a Crown corporation. This means watchdogs like the procurement ombud cannot check on its work. I want to know if my colleague is worried about this loss of oversight.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech, which was, I must say, forceful and very firm. We know that transforming the Defence Investment Agency into a Crown corporation means that certain watchdogs, such as the procurement ombud, will not be able to scrutinize its activities. Is that a concern of my colleague’s?

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Tamara Kronis

Conservative
“I agree that this bill has serious transparency problems. People have raised many concerns about accountability, and the government needs to listen to them. We still have a lot of work to do on this bill.”

  • Reply to a debate question

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his question, and I am continuing to work on being able to answer questions in French. I do agree that there are some significant transparency issues. I am encouraged in some ways by the fact that this is really the third iteration of the organization. However, there have been many concerns around transparency and accountability raised in the chamber thus far, and I would urge the government to pay close attention to them. I think there is substantial and significant work to be done on the bill.

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Jonathan Rowe

Conservative
“I am worried about this bill. Creating this new government corporation could pull us into the American military system and lead to contracts Canadians do not want.”

  • Question or comment in debate

    Signal 31 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it was not very long ago that BC Ferries awarded a contract to China. That was not in the interests of the Canadian people, and most people we talked to on the street thought it was absolutely ridiculous. Meanwhile, the federal government gave billions of dollars to BC Ferries, but the Liberals just shrugged their shoulders with no regard. Would allowing this Crown corporation open the door for the Crown corporation to be sucked into the American military complex? We would then have a situation such as BC Ferries, where it would be awarding contracts that the Canadian people may not appreciate.

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Tamara Kronis

Conservative
“This bill does not require investing in Canadian businesses. The Liberals need to fix it so it helps Canadians more.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Relevance 46 of 100

    None of this reply addressed the specific point raised or the topic under debate.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the concern he shows for people in my community, who, like the people in his community, are dependent upon ferry services for most of their daily existence. This is one of the reasons I wanted to highlight the importance of the fact that there are currently no invest Canadian provisions in the bill. Many members have raised issues, and I think a number of them are legitimate. I hope the government is paying attention to these debates and remarks, and that the Liberals will go back to the drawing board and make some improvements to the bill that would enhance the impact of these very important decisions on Canadians.

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Elizabeth May

Green
“This bill does not name the defence minister or the minister in charge of buying military gear. The government will pick who does the job later.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague reads bills carefully. I am wondering if she noted that it is not the Minister of Defence or even the associate minister for defence procurement who is actually named in the bill, but the Liberals will fill in the blanks later from cabinet.

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Tamara Kronis

Conservative
“This bill is not ready. It could cause conflicts of interest and bad unintended results. Parliament needs to make major changes to improve it.”

  • Reply to a debate question

    Relevance 46 of 100

    None of this reply addressed the specific point raised or the topic under debate.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, again, it goes to the fact that the bill feels like one that is half-baked. There are so many possibilities. I go back again to the fact that it would not just be an actual legal conflict of interest that we need to be concerned with. We need to also be concerned about appearances. Right now, I think that the government is actually leaving itself vulnerable to all kinds of unintended consequences if Parliament is not given a chance to have a substantially amended and improved bill.

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