Speeches for The Honourable Michael M Fortier

to the House of Commons Standing Committee
on Government Operations and Estimates

June 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Madame Chair, Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to meet with you today.

This is my first appearance as Minister before a Committee of Parliament. I can assure Members of the Committee that I will answer their questions to the best of my ability and I will listen carefully to their views. Several senior officers of PWGSC are in attendance with me including the Deputy Minister David Marshall.

Many of the Members of this Committee have been in Parliament for several years and will have surely formed their views of PWGSC. As I informed my opposition critics, whom I have already met privately, I will always be open to suggestions aimed at improving the Department.

Let me first say that I was honoured last February when the Prime Minister called on me to serve in his Cabinet as the Minister for Public Works and Government Services and the Minister responsible for Greater Montreal.

The Speech from the Throne confirmed the five priorities our government will pursue in the coming weeks and months. Cleaning up government is at the top of the list, and the Federal Accountability Act (FAA), Bill C-2, will be the cornerstone of our efforts to change the way business is done.

The reforms contained in Bill C-2 are comprehensive. They will have a particularly positive impact on my own Department, but will be felt in all institutions and in all corners of Government.

Members know that a legislative committee is presently studying the Bill, but I believe that it is important for this Committee to be seized with two elements of the proposed FAA that will have direct implications on PWGSC.

Bill C-2 contains a number of measures to clean up federal contracting – an important common service role provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada. We are the Government’s experts in procurement, and we will lead the way in reforming the process to ensure that it is fair, open and transparent.

Once Bill C-2 is proclaimed, it is the government’s intention to create the new position of Procurement Auditor, with a mandate to review on an ongoing basis the Government’s procurement process to ensure fairness and transparency, and to make recommendations for improvements. The Procurement Auditor will also establish a process to review complaints from vendors, and will manage an alternative dispute resolution process for contract disputes.

Bill C-2 anticipates that the Procurement Auditor will be appointed by Governor-in-Council, and will report to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. An annual report will be tabled in Parliament.

In addition, I will be soon launching the consultation process with industry associations, research institutes, and other stakeholders, on a Code of conduct for procurement. This Code, which I hope to have in place by this fall, will consolidate all existing conflict-of-interest and anti-corruption measures into a comprehensive and transparent statement of expectations for government employees and suppliers alike.

As another measure to clean-up government contracting, integrity provisions will be included in all bid solicitation and contract documents to provide a clear statement of the existing obligations of contractors under the Criminal Code, the Competition Act and the Lobbyists Registration Act. Taken together, the Code of Conduct and integrity provisions will clearly define for public servants and suppliers what is acceptable conduct when contracting with the government.

The proposed FAA also reinforces the commitment of our government – and my personal commitment as Minister – to improve access to government business for smaller vendors and vendors in all regions of Canada. Small and medium enterprises account for 43 percent of Canadian GDP, 66 percent of all jobs in the economy and much of Canada’s economic growth. Creating opportunities and rewarding the hard work and innovation of Canada’s small and medium enterprises is a key commitment of the government.

For this reason, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, or OSME, has been established within Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Office has already begun to address the concerns of SMEs, in order to ensure that firms have fair opportunities to compete, regardless of their size and location.

Six regional Offices of Small and Medium Enterprises have been established. These offices are a critical element of the Federal Accountability Action Plan, and represent a major commitment to small and medium suppliers to government. With an OSME presence across the country, the government can ensure that smaller vendors and vendors in all regions of Canada receive due consideration in bidding for government contracts. The Government as a client and, indirectly, taxpayers will benefit from having more suppliers compete for Government business. Prices should go down and innovation and creativity rise.

The second aspect of the proposed FAA that is of particular significance for my Department relates to public opinion research and advertising.

As a first step in rebuilding public trust in this area, we will make it mandatory that all public opinion research reports commissioned by the Government of Canada be provided in writing, and that a copy be submitted to Library and Archives Canada. As well, Bill C-2 will require departments to make all such reports public within six months of completion of the project.

I will soon also appoint an Independent Advisor for a term of six months to review, assess and report on government procurement practices for public opinion research – including issues raised in the Auditor General’s 2003 report – and to recommend whether further action or inquiry is required. This individual will be selected pursuant to Special Appointment Regulations issued under the Public Service Employment Act, and will report to me, as Minister. His or her findings will be made public.

The Business Transformation Agenda that is now underway within Public Works and Government Services Canada shows that the management and staff of this department have only one goal – to serve the public interest in the best way possible by making the right business decisions on behalf of Canadians.

We are committed to developing the most efficient, effective and lowest cost accommodation strategy for the Government of Canada – work that I wholeheartedly endorse and will continue to support. Key decisions need to be made about our aging real property inventory, and I have been looking at this issue for a while now.

In addition, my department is also reducing the average space per employee; rigorously applying fit-up standards throughout the government; and taking a more aggressive negotiation approach for leases.

I have also endorsed the procurement reforms that are underway in my department. Every year, the Government of Canada purchases over $20 billion in goods and services, the majority of which is bought by Public Works and Government Services Canada. By leveraging the buying power of the Government as a whole and taking steps to reduce the cost and time it takes to purchase goods and services, we will achieve better value for Canadians. Our Shared Travel Services Initiative is an example. This initiative is targeted to reduce the government’s annual $1.2B travel bill by $375M over five years.

Madame Chair, members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to make these brief opening remarks.

I welcome any questions the Committee might have at this time.