QUESTION PERIOD — Public Services and Procurement
Service Contracts
February 8, 2023
Government leader, I want to return to a topic I raised briefly yesterday, which is the McKinsey consulting firm issue. McKinsey has long-standing and extensive ties to the Liberal Party of Canada.
Leader, McKinsey has received contracts worth at least $120 million from the Trudeau government. At least 18 contracts were sole-sourced, and one of the contracts given to McKinsey for IT services doesn’t sunset until the year 2100 — 77 years from now.
All of that has occurred at the same time that this government has greatly increased the size and the cost of public service.
Leader, the Prime Minister said his government would look into those contracts — he has had several weeks now to look into them. Why will he not tell Canadians the total amount his government gave his friends at McKinsey? Will McKinsey keep raking in taxpayer dollars for work of lesser quality than the work Canada’s public service could do?
Thank you for the question.
If I understood one aspect of the question, allow me to correct the record. The contract to which you refer, Senator Plett, which is going to be “sunsetting,” as you said, in 77 years, or something like that, is not a contract at all; it’s a supply arrangement. It doesn’t guarantee any monetary arrangement. It is simply a pre‑selection of supply. Hundreds of suppliers have arrangements of that kind. It’s a long-standing government practice that aims to expedite the procurement process.
I could go on, but I’ll turn to the other aspects of your question.
Indeed, lots of contracts with McKinsey and others have been undertaken by this government. Such services are used to complement the services of our very able and professional public service. They meet unexpected fluctuations in human resources and workload or, as is often the case, where special expertise is required, and it would be imprudent to bring on new full-time employees for work that has a more fixed timeline.
As we know, colleagues, the Prime Minister has asked Minister Jaczek and Minister Fortier to review the matter, take a closer look into the numbers and look into the circumstances of all those contracts. The government is looking at this matter to make sure that everything was done in the right way.
I understand that the focus of the Treasury Board rests on the policy underlying the granting of such consultancy contracts, while PSPC — Public Services and Procurement Canada — will focus on the circumstances surrounding those contracts. The government looks forward to the results of those inquiries and to sharing that with the public.
It is amazing how this Prime Minister always looks into issues after he has messed them up, then he has people looking into it.
For almost two years, leader, since March 2021, I have had written questions on the Senate’s Order Paper asking for information regarding the vetting process for Mr. Dominic Barton’s appointment as the Chair of the Trudeau government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. Mr. Barton is a former top executive with McKinsey and the Trudeau government’s former ambassador to China. The Prime Minister has publicly called him a friend, despite whatever he says now.
As well, for over two years, since December 2020, I have had a question on the Senate’s Order Paper asking the Trudeau government to provide information on how much it paid all consultants in relation to its COVID-19 response program.
Leader, neither of these questions has been answered. At this point, it’s clear your government doesn’t ever want to answer them. Why is that, leader? Why is your government hiding this information?
I’m sorry, senator — and thank you for your question — but I don’t accept the premise. Mr. Barton appeared before a committee in the other house. I know the focus of much of the questioning from members of the opposition was to try to depict his relationship with the Prime Minister in terms that, as it turns out, are not at all correct. It’s unfortunate, as there are more important questions about how we can improve and what the right balance to be struck between our professional public service and consultants is going forward as the world changes, and as human resources are challenged.
I spent a fair bit of time yesterday providing answers to a large number of questions, both written and oral. I’ll continue to make my best efforts to get answers in a timely fashion.
