Members of Parliament are demanding answers after billions in pandemic relief funds were mismanaged, with a Brazilian contractor paid hundreds of millions to oversee a flawed program. Blacklock's Reporter says the controversy centers on the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), which provided $60,000 interest-free loans to small businesses, but resulted in $3.5 billion in payments to ineligible recipients.“COVID is not an excuse for ignoring the rules,” said Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West) during a Commons public accounts committee hearing. McCauley criticized the lack of transparency, saying, “I believe they are hiding something. It’s very clear we have got a lot of issues.”The Department of Finance had oversight of the program, which was managed by Export Development Canada (EDC). EDC outsourced the project to Accenture PLC, a Brazilian consultancy firm, at a cost of $209 million. Mairead Lavery, CEO of EDC, defended the decision, stating her agency lacked the capacity to handle the scale of the program.“For context, in a typical year Export Development Canada extends about 300 loans,” Lavery explained, noting the program issued loans to 898,000 small businesses.McCauley pressed Lavery to identify who at the Department of Finance approved the arrangement. “Who was that with the Department of Finance please?” he asked. Lavery responded that discussions were held with officials below the deputy minister level and agreed to provide a list of names to the committee.“Your memory is obviously shaky at this point,” McCauley remarked.The financial losses and irregularities in Accenture’s billing practices added to MPs’ frustration. Auditors discovered that Brazilian call center staff were paid for 14-hour shifts despite working only 9 hours, with billable rates ranging from $60 to $750 per hour.Liberal MP Francis Drouin (Glengarry-Prescott, Ont.) expressed his dismay over the contractor’s invoicing. “I know you guys were in a hurry, and we were all getting pressure back home to get this going,” he said. “But where I do have some issues, and I think the Auditor General is right, is billing practices.”Conservative MP Brad Vis (Mission-Matsqui, B.C.) called for accountability, stating, “The Auditor General confirmed the pandemic was not an excuse for improper program delivery or operationalization. Who should be fired for wasting $3.5 billion of taxpayers’ money?”Lavery defended EDC’s actions, emphasizing the challenges of launching the program during the pandemic. “This program was built in an unprecedented time,” she said, adding that EDC is working to recover the funds and improve its processes.“We are focused on improving our controls and reporting,” Lavery said. “We have established a clear process to collect on all loans, including amounts owing from ineligible recipients. This process is underway.”
