QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Service Contracts
February 14, 2023
My question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has given McKinsey & Company consultants contracts worth $24.5 million for so-called management advice. A public servant with this department told Radio-Canada last month:
We had a few presentations on very generic, completely vapid stuff. They arrived with nice colours, nice presentations and said they would revolutionize everything . . . In the end, we don’t have any idea what they did . . .
Leader, the wait times and backlog in this department in recent years are arguably the worst ever. Why did the Trudeau government give McKinsey millions of taxpayer dollars when whatever advice it was providing to the immigration department was obviously not working?
Thank you for your question, and there are a couple of different aspects. We have discussed on several occasions the challenges facing the immigration system in Canada, and I have provided, to the best of my ability, details of what the government has done in an attempt and in its effort to remediate the situation that we’re experiencing.
As I’ve also said on other occasions, the government has enormous faith in its institutions and in its professional public service, but this government, as other governments have, will turn to outside expertise to help where there is expertise needed to resolve issues. Again, in this particular case, the vexing problem plaguing immigration. The government has confidence in the public service and also has confidence that it is using public funds responsibly when seeking outside help to address the problems facing Canadians.
Leader, there are well over 2 million applications caught in the backlog at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Today, according to the government’s own website, the application processing time for a skilled tradesperson seeking entry to Canada is 70 months.
Despite the massive backlog and little evidence Canadians are getting good value for money spent on the McKinsey contracts, the Trudeau government revised an immigration department contract during the pandemic to give McKinsey even more money.
Leader, could you tell us why your government believed McKinsey deserved extra money from Canadian taxpayers for a job done so poorly?
Thank you for your question, colleague, but I don’t subscribe to the premise, assumption or statement in your question.
As I’ve reported in this chamber, the government is looking into — two ministers have been tasked with looking into — the circumstances under which contracts are awarded, not only to McKinsey but to others. I’ve read, and as we all know, it is also the subject of inquiry in a House committee. The government looks forward to the results of both of those processes to make sure that public funds are used appropriately and in the best interests of Canadians.
