Karen Hogan made a statement and, with Andrew Hayes and Sami Hannoush, answered questions.

Julie Vignola gave notice of the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1), the committee order the government and the Department of Public Works and Government Services to produce, in both official languages, a copy of all contracts, communications, memoranda, calls for tenders and proposal submissions with GC Strategies in the context of the COVID Alert application, as well as all government or internal communications from any government agency or department in connection with the COVID Alert application, and that they be submitted no later than Friday, March 15, 2024, as long as these documents are free of any redactions.

Questioning of the witnesses resumed.

Stephanie Kusie moved, — That, in light of new reports that GC Strategies has received $258-million since 2015 in government contracts, including 46 sole-sourced contracts, the committee call on the Auditor General of Canada to conduct a performance audit, on a priority basis, of all payments to GC Strategies and its contracts with the Government of Canada, including all departments, agencies and Crown corporations, including all subcontracts which GC Strategies has awarded under those contracts; and that the committee report these findings to the House.

Debate arose thereon.

At 6:54 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 6:58 p.m., the sitting resumed.

The question was put on the motion, as amended, and it was agreed to on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Taylor Bachrach, Parm Bains, Kelly Block, Garnett Genuis, Majid Jowhari, Stephanie Kusie, Irek Kusmierczyk, Charles Sousa, Julie Vignola — 9;

NAYS: — 0.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, in light of new reports that GC Strategies and other companies incorporated by the co-founders have received millions of dollars in government contracts, including a number of sole-sourced contracts, the committee request that the Auditor General of Canada conduct a performance audit, on a priority basis, of all payments to GC Strategies and other companies incorporated by the co-founders and all contracts with the Government of Canada, including all departments, agencies and Crown corporations, including all subcontracts which GC Strategies and the before mentioned have been awarded under those contracts; and that the committee report this request and these findings to the House.

ORDERED, — That the Chair present the report to the House.

At 7:28 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 7:36 p.m., the sitting resumed in camera.

It was agreed, — That the supplementary budget in the amount of $5,000, for the study of the ArriveCAN Application, be adopted.

It was agreed, — That the proposed budget in the amount of $9, 000, for the study of the changeover of the Public Service Health Care Plan from Sun Life to Canada Life, be adopted.

It was agreed, — That, a travel budget proposal to travel to Victoria, Vancouver, Halifax and Quebec City to visit shipyards as part of a study of the National Shipbuilding Strategy be prepared for approval by the committee.

It was agreed, — That the committee invite the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House of Commons to a briefing session in camera at the earliest opportunity.

It was agreed, — That the committee proceed to sit in public.

It was agreed, — That, in relation to the study of Canada Post, the Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada be invited to appear; that the President of Canada Post be invited to appear; and that the two appear separately.

At 8:01 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 8:06 p.m., the sitting resumed in public.

Charles Sousa moved, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(c), the committee undertake a study on the government's work towards regulatory modernization, that the committee examine matters including:

(a) Examining how to reduce the unnecessary administrative burden for individuals and small businesses;

(b) Examining how to simplify regulatory processes, including certifications and codes of practice, without the need to make regulatory changes and the introduction of regulatory sandboxes;

(c) Cutting unnecessary red tape to make cross-border trade easier through more consistent and coherent rules across governments, such as adopting national standards more widely; and

(d) Examining regulations that may impede international competitiveness;

That the committee allocate four meetings to conduct this study; that witnesses be submitted to the clerk of the committee by Wednesday, February 28, 2024; that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the government table a comprehensive response

After debate, the question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

It was agreed, — That the deadline to submit suggested witnesses for the study of postal service in Canada’s rural and remote communities be 12 p.m., on Friday, February 16, 2024.

It was agreed, — That the motion for which Julie Vignola gave notice at the beginning of the meeting would be debated during the next meeting.