Madam Speaker, I want to stress that this is an issue we are not taking lightly. Let me first say that I am very proud of the public servants who worked so diligently to ensure that the government could deliver services and programs to Canadians during the pandemic.

At the same time, it is clear that something went wrong with the procurement of professional services related to ArriveCAN. Our government is extremely concerned about the issues that have come to light. I want the member to know that we have taken and are taking action to improve our procurement processes, and we are holding companies accountable for their misconduct, while protecting federal expenditures. With regard to reports by the Auditor General and the procurement ombudsman, Public Services and Procurement Canada, PSPC, as the central purchaser for the government, has already taken several steps to implement the recommendations and improve the processes.

For several years now, the department has been making progress in its plan to modernize procurement, which has long been a priority. Right now the government is firmly focused on improving and further strengthening processes, especially when it comes to IT procurement. We have been working for months to do just that. This includes strengthening guidance and training for those involved in the procurement process. PSPC is also improving evaluation requirements to ensure that resources are properly qualified, and is requiring increased transparency for suppliers around their price and their use of subcontractors.

It is also improving documentation when awarding contracts and issuing task authorizations, and it is clarifying work requirements and activities, specifically which activities and which projects are worked on by contractors. In addition, PSPC is updating its guidance to help other departments and agencies in procuring responsibly when using procurement instruments under their own authorities. We know that fundamentally improving IT procurement requires us to ensure that those processes are clear and transparent and that the roles, responsibilities and rules are understood, respected and adhered to.

To that end, the department is going even further in strengthening the integrity in procurement by creating a new office of supplier integrity and compliance, which we know will help the government better respond to misconduct. We owe it to Canadians to preserve the integrity of federal government procurement. That is why we are taking action now to strengthen and improve procurement so that what happened in the case of ArriveCAN never happens again.

Randeep Sarai

$608,553.00