Advertising is enough to capture the imagination. A scam uncovered by Ottawa last Wednesday revealed that three technology sector consultants billed the same hours on the same files to 36 different federal departments and agencies.
This $5 million fraud highlights flaws in the government procurement system and blind spots in the contracting process.
In an interview on the program Behind the scenes of powerMinister Jean-Yves Duclos confirms that A A small portion of external contracts
The government that will be involved in this fraud. There are nearly ten other cases already on its officials' radar.
they [les citoyens] They have the right to be shocked. We are all shocked, we are all angry. We wish these situations did not exist, but unfortunately they do, because that is the way human nature works.
Internal investigations into these alleged fraud cases began several years ago. These matters have nothing to do with Auditor-General Karen Hogan's damning report into the management of external contracts surrounding the design of the ArriveCan app, despite the involvement of the Department of Public Services and Procurement.
If Jean-Yves Duclos' announcement may sound like an exercise in public relations or crisis management, professor and public administration specialist Denis Saint-Martin believes the research Good publicity stunt
And a Good public policy
Not incompatible.
It might as well look like a witch hunt, which it should. Must be species […] A sword strike ensuring that everyone who used to ignore the rules knew that there was a Sword of Damocles above [de leur tête]. This is not bad in times of crisis.
The results of internal investigations into the three consultants involved in this $5 million scam, who have had their security clearance suspended, have been passed on to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The federal government has also taken steps to recover the overpayments.
A drop of water in the ocean of contracts
The deal announced last week may seem modest, as it represents three transactions worth $5 million out of 400,000 contracts worth $35 billion awarded by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) in 2023.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Photo: Radio-Canada
However, Minister Duclos refuses to exaggerate its size. No, we're not exaggerating that. You have to do whatever it takes […] To find them all. It takes a lot of work, but it's necessary […] Canadians' confidence.
However, he acknowledges that we must avoid generalizing the situation to all companies that do business with Ottawa.
These are bad apples in a very big basket of apples. We must avoid believing that the entire basket is corrupt.
The fact that 36 ministries were affected by this fraud confirms the strong tendency for ministries to continue operating In silos
Judge Dennis San Martin. According to him, this is something that will eventually need to be worked on.
The professor also emphasizes the importance of accountability mechanisms to avoid falling into them Black hole
Of accountability.
Artificial intelligence in the wake of scammers
It was a denunciation over a telephone line PSPC On the trail of scammers. Then, advanced data analysis techniques allowed him to notice that the three consultants had billed the same working hours to multiple ministries.
Artificial intelligence is one of the new tools available to investigators. Without it, it would be difficult—if not impossible—to collect, cross-reference, and analyze data on hundreds of thousands of federal contracts.
If AI can be a tool, it could be counterproductive, according to Professor San Martin.
Algorithms can help officials search for evidence, but they also help contractors try to circumvent the rules.
Eye on suppliers
Another tool that the Ministry relies on to monitor suppliers is the Bureau of Supplier Integrity and Compliance (BICF). It will see the light next May.
a task It's enough and its future employees is to ensure that the federal government does not do business with suppliers who exhibit troubling behavior. To do this, the office will have the ability to detect fraud and irregularities related to federal procurement.
It may take measures such as suspending or canceling the supplier's registration, in the absence of prosecution or indictment, and cooperating with other jurisdictions such as Quebec or the United States, according to information provided during the technical briefing.
If the epidemic causes electric shock
Accelerating the digital efforts of public administration, according to Denis San Martin, this incident above all put the public service to the test in an emergency. Good public administration and the concept of emergency are incompatible
he adds.
However, the professor believes that it is possible Pendulum return
The almost systematic outsourcing and subcontracting – a way of doing things that dates back to the 1990s – will gradually be replaced by more work by internal civil servants.
Nobody likes bureaucracy. Then, when scandals like this happen, it's certainly easy to blame bad officials.
declares Denis Saint-Martin.
Add : These are challenging times, but some would say golden files and opportunities to work really hard
.
The interview with Minister Duclos will be broadcast on Behind the scenes of power At 11 Evening, Sunday, from here RDI And here at a distance.
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