Go Ad Free

Conservative MP Randy Hoback's order paper inquiry asked for transparency on the use of lobbyists and consultants by Canada’s embassies and high commissions in G7 countries, including  how much taxpayer money has been spent on such services since January 2022, and the details of each contract, including the vendors, amounts, and how these contracts were awarded.

However, the response from Liberal MP Robert Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was anything but transparent. 

Oliphant admitted that Global Affairs Canada (GAC) could not provide a detailed answer, claiming that the information is not systematically tracked in a centralized database. He further stated that gathering the requested information would require a manual process that could result in “incomplete and misleading information.”

At a time when Canadians are facing record inflation, rising costs of living, and high taxes, taxpayers have every right to know how their money is being spent—especially when it comes to foreign embassies hiring lobbyists and consultants.

CPC's Garnett Genuis, of beautiful Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, goes through the convenient and quite suspicious timeline of the decision to buy the 9 million dollar condo for Trudeau's media pal Tom Clark.

Trudeau's government increased the value of purchases that could be… pic.twitter.com/zJQiaBzVZc

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) August 20, 2024

Rather than providing clear answers, Oliphant pointed Canadians to the Open Government site, where information on contracts worth more than $10,000 is supposedly available. 

But why should Canadians have to sift through a government website to find the details that should have been easily provided by Global Affairs Canada in the first place?

Global Affairs Canada cannot—or will not—provide basic financial details about the embassies representing Canada in G7 countries. 

Contrary to Liberal claims that the new residence of the consul general in New York would amount to a tax savings, bureaucrats in charge have absolutely no clue.

They admit the cost just to maintain the $9 million condo for Trudeau's buddy, Tom Clark, is $400k annually pic.twitter.com/VJhRbBw5Rf

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) August 20, 2024

Are contracts being awarded to politically-connected firms? Are taxpayer dollars being wasted on unnecessary or overpriced services? 

CORRUPTION IN TRUDEAUPIA:

From 2016, Dominic Barton was the chair of Trudeau's economic advisory council.

He was the Global Managing Director of McKinsey from 2009- 2018.

From 2016, there was a 2500% increase in contracts awarded to McKinsey, the majority of which broke… pic.twitter.com/ZMo2no9Ng1

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) June 10, 2024

Whether it’s hiding the true cost of the carbon tax, obfuscating spending on immigration, sweetheart contracts to well-connected friends, or failing to deliver on promises of transparency, Trudeau's government has made a habit of keeping Canadians in the dark.