OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre repeatedly pressed Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday over whether he discussed a $2.3-billion government deal involving Telesat, a Canadian satellite company headed by a longtime friend of the prime minister.During Question Period, Poilievre accused Carney of avoiding questions about his relationship with Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg, whom he described as a friend of 20 years, and demanded to know whether the prime minister had discussed the company with government officials."Has the Prime Minister ever discussed Telesat with his public servants, his ministers, or staff? Yes or no?" Poilievre asked.Carney responded that he had no involvement in decisions concerning the company, saying the procurement process had been underway for years."I had no knowledge of those decisions. I did not participate in those decisions," Carney said.The prime minister also said the decisions originated with a process dating back to the former Conservative government in 2007, with the final decision made by the secretary of state responsible for defence procurement..Poilievre challenged that explanation, arguing that the contract was awarded in August, more than a decade after the Conservatives left office.He accused Carney of carefully distinguishing between participating in a decision and discussing the company with government officials."Oh, how he chooses his words so very carefully," Poilievre said.The Conservative leader also alleged that Carney had removed references to Goldberg and his company from a later edition of his book.Poilievre returned to the matter later in Question Period, citing Section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act, which restricts public office holders from using their positions to improperly further another person's private interests.He again demanded a direct answer on whether Carney had ever discussed Telesat with a minister, public servant or member of his staff.The government House leader responded instead, defending Canada's ethics and disclosure requirements and saying government members were expected to comply with the law..Poilievre also questioned Carney's justification for the $2.3-billion deal, noting that Telesat was paying Elon Musk's SpaceX approximately $1 billion for launch services."The excuse doesn't work because Telesat is giving a billion of those dollars to Elon Musk's SpaceX for launch capabilities," Poilievre said.The exchange came hours before the Liberals were scheduled to table their 2026 budget, with Poilievre accusing the government of manipulating its financial figures."He cooked the books on immigration, he cooked the books on debt," Poilievre said.The Conservative leader accused Carney of dividing government spending across "not one, not two, but three different credit cards," using accounting rules he claimed were unlike those used elsewhere."If a company did it, they would be criminally charged for defrauding their shareholders," he said.Poilievre also cited the Parliamentary Budget Officer, claiming Carney was planning to add more than $700 billion in federal debt over five years..Carney defended his government's financial record, saying Canadians would soon see a budget aimed at strengthening the economy while bringing the operating budget into balance."We will see a government that's balancing the operational budget," Carney said.Conservative MPs continued questioning the government's accounting practices, including its reliance on Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio.One Conservative MP accused the Liberals of using public pension assets to make federal debt appear smaller."The money is not for the finance minister to spend or to borrow against," the MP said.Government representatives responded by pointing to Canada's financial standing among G7 countries."We have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio by far," a government parliamentary secretary said, while also citing Canada's AAA credit rating.Carney denied participating in decisions involving Telesat during Thursday's exchange, but did not directly answer Poilievre's repeated question about whether he had discussed the company with government officials.
