Question Period Note: Leases and contracts related to the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle Border Crossing

Since 2017, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has supported the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to put in place contracts and leases to manage an increase in asylum seekers at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing.

Whereas the contracting values are publicly disclosed, the sole source leases values have historically not been subject to the same disclosure requirements.

Nine lease agreements have been concluded with companies owned by Pierre Guay (e.g. for office space, land, and for use of the hotel adjacent to the border crossing). Various requests (media and access to information) were made concerning these lease agreements. Mr. Guay is characterized in a La Presse article as a supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada.

In September 2022, Radio-Canada published a number of stories on the Roxham Road crossing, criticizing the Government for not releasing the lease costs associated with the processing of asylum claims.

• Transparency and accountability are of the utmost importance to this government
  • As Minister of Public Services and Procurement, my department works with federal organizations to meet their needs through fair and open contracts and lease arrangements
  • There are 30 contracts related to the Roxam Road crossing, worth a total of $108.56 million. The information is in the public domain. We will continue to be open and transparent in our procurement practices and will continue to provide the best value for Canadians
  • Unlike contracts, lease agreements are structured differently and as a result of the commercially sensitive nature of some elements of leases, such as the rental rate per square meter, not all details have been disclosed
  • Nonetheless, the total amount of these leases is $28.13 million and was disclosed on October 17, 2022. [Redacted]

Since the spring of 2017, a very high volume of asylum seekers arrived at the Roxham Road crossing. This volume of irregular migration has created the need for RCMP, CBSA, and IRCC to increase their infrastructure to process claims and provide services to asylum seekers. The COVID-19 pandemic added increased pressures on infrastructure and service delivery, given the need to respect sanitary measures in processing claims and providing services.

From 2017 to October 1, 2022, PSPC has put in place 30 contracts at the request and on behalf of the RCMP, CBSA, and IRCC to help manage the increase in asylum seekers to Canada for a total of $108.56 million (taxes included). No contract has been awarded by PSPC to Mr. Guay’s companies.

In addition to these contracts, PSPC has signed nine leases to meet the needs of its federal partners. Mr. Guay is the only private landowner in the geographic area of the Lacolle border crossing, which put PSPC into a direct negotiation process. Five of the leases are still active. The location for leases were determined by RCMP, CBSA and IRCC to meet their stringent operational requirements and are reflective of a steady stream of claimants. These leave agreements are used for a range of activities, from a triage centre, dorms, and office spaces to a land lease, parking, and for the hotel adjacent to the border crossing. Although the value of each individual lease cannot be disclosed unilaterally given the commercially sensitive nature of the information, the total amount of these leases is $28.13 million and was disclosed on October 17, 2022. [Redacted]

In December 2021, PSPC received a media request from La Presse requesting the value of the agreements between the Government of Canada and companies owned by Mr. Guay in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle. PSPC did not disclose the value of the lease agreements due to reasons of commercial sensitivity. PSPC also received an access to information request concerning the agreements and all related information, citing a 2004 Federal Appeal Court decision arguing the Department must make the values public. PSPC is processing this access to information request.

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