“The government says it wants the best prices, but it leaves out buying from Canadian companies. The government spent $2 billion on military gear from an American company with an Ontario plant and called it Canadian. Canadians want the government to buy from Canadian businesses first. I want the parliamentary secretary to explain how much buying Canadian matters when choosing who gets a contract.”

“Madam Speaker, on this, I find myself unequivocally agreeing with the member of Parliament for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound and finding the argumentation from my friend, the parliamentary secretary, lacking because the fundamental piece around the best efficiencies, the best competitive bid, omits the commitment to buy Canadian. The maple-washing point made by the leader of the official opposition would also apply to the $2 billion to General Dynamics for buying military equipment while claiming it is a Canadian company, although General Dynamics is a 100% U.S. company with a branch plant in London, Ontario. Canadians want to see investment in Canadian companies, first and foremost. So-called LNG Canada has not a single Canadian corporation involved. There are also PetroChina and Shell. I could go on. Canadians really are calling for the government to put Canada first in procurement. I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could give us a sense of where that ranks when there are competing bids.”