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Public Services and Procurement

Question period focused on federal money for the AI company Cohere. The Conservatives said people close to the Prime Minister, including members of his AI council who had invested in or sat on Cohere’s board, were connected to a company receiving $1.6 billion in public funds, and asked why government decisions keep benefiting well-connected insiders. The Liberals said Cohere is a Canadian success story, one of the few major AI models not owned by the United States or China, and that the investment would create over 1,000 jobs and bring $1.7 billion in company investment to Canada.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

John Brassard

Conservative
“The government gave $1.6 billion in public money to a company tied to people close to the Prime Minister. This makes their own investments worth more. I want to know why government decisions keep helping Liberal insiders instead of everyday Canadians.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we have yet another stunning example of public policy decisions benefiting well-connected Liberal insiders. Dominic Barton, the chair of Invest in Canada, and Patrick Pichette, the head of digital transformation Canada, were early investors in Cohere AI through Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, respectively. Both have long-standing ties to the Prime Minister and were recently appointed to major government roles. The Liberals just gave Cohere $1.6 billion in taxpayer money, which will increase the value of Cohere and, potentially, Barton’s and Pichette’s ground-floor investments. Why is it that when the Liberals claim to be acting in the public interest, it is well-connected Liberal insiders who do well self-dealing while the people they govern suffer?

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Taleeb Noormohamed

Liberal
“The opposition is attacking successful Canadian companies. Cohere is a Canadian success story and one of the only major AI models not owned by the United States or China. It protects Canadian control over AI and helps build our own technology network at home.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the theme of today’s question period appears to be talking down Canada and talking down Canadian champions, so let us get after this. Cohere is a Canadian champion, one of the only LLMs in the world that is not owned by the U.S. or China. It is a Canadian champion. It is a Canadian powerhouse. It promotes and preserves Canadian AI sovereignty. It allows us to build a strong AI network here at home. It does that by ensuring that Canadians are part of that success.

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John Brassard

Conservative

Linked statement

“The Liberals are using public money to make their friends rich. People who advised the Prime Minister on artificial intelligence also invested in Cohere and sit on its board. Now that company has received 1.6 billion dollars of taxpayer money. The government needs to stop doing this.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, this is not about Cohere. Canadians have seen this self-dealing Barton Liberal playbook before with McKinsey. They shape public policy and then benefit from the results. Patrick Pichette and Jordan Jacobs were both appointed to the Prime Minister’s AI council, and both sit on the board of Cohere. Jacobs co-founded Radical Ventures, where Barton is a partner. Together, they backed Cohere in its early stages and advised the Prime Minister on Canada’s AI strategy. Now the company they invested in has received $1.6 billion in taxpayer funding. When will the Liberals stop using taxpayer dollars to align public policy that enriches well-connected Liberals?

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Taleeb Noormohamed

Liberal
“The Conservatives are ignoring the facts. Our investment in Cohere will create over 1,000 good jobs and bring $1.7 billion into Canada. We are helping build strong Canadian companies that keep jobs here at home.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the real scandal here is the fact that the Conservatives are ignoring the facts. The facts are that Cohere is going to create more than 1,000 new high-paying jobs to employ Canadians and that Cohere is going to invest $1.7 billion into creating capacity in Canada. That is how we build Canadian champions. The Conservatives may not like success. That is clearly what we are seeing from their own success and their own record. The reality is that we are going to help build Canadian champions. We are going to make sure Canadian companies create the jobs here at home so they can remain at home and build Canadian companies that are going to make Canadians proud for decades ahead.

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