Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek’s office is pledging to work with a parliamentary committee if it adopts a motion the Conservative leader says is coming shortly seeking a probe into reports of contracts given to consulting firm McKinsey.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that Jaczek and Treasury Board President Mona Fortier have been tasked with looking into the contracts, which Radio-Canada reported have increased under the Liberal government. Global News has not independently verified the report.
“We will do a follow-up to ensure it was done the right way and to see if we need to modify or change the rules,” Trudeau said, speaking in French.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre voiced his concern about the contracts on Tuesday when he told reporters that his party intends to ask the House of Commons government operations and estimates committee to launch a study into the tens of millions of dollars reportedly awarded to the firm.
The call comes after Radio-Canada reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government spent 30 times more on contracts with the consulting firm than what was granted to McKinsey under his predecessor, Stephen Harper.
“We will always ensure that the advice received helps the Government continue delivering for Canadians,” read a statement from Jaczek’s office.
“We have not received a formal request from the Government Operations and Estimates Committee, but (we) will work with the committee if a motion is adopted on the matter.”
The statement added that Jaczek is “taking these concerns seriously.”
“We continue to maintain the highest standards of openness, transparency, and fiscal responsibility,” her office said.
According to Radio-Canada’s reporting, which Poilievre cited, Harper’s government awarded $ 2.2 million in contracts to McKinsey over the nine years it was in power. Since coming to office in 2015, however, Trudeau’s government reportedly gave $ 66 million in contracts to the firm.
More than $24 million of this money, the report added, dealt with contracts related to the immigration department.
“We want to know what all this money was for,” Poilievre said, speaking on Tuesday.
Poilievre also expressed concerns about the potential influence of the firm, and Trudeau’s decision to appoint former McKinsey director Dominic Barton as his ambassador to China for just over two years, ending in 2021.
The Conservative leader said he wants to know more about the “outsized influence” this company may have had on “the operation of our government, in our democracy.”
In order to launch such a study, however, Conservative MPs will need to submit a formal motion to the government operations committee. Then, the request will have to pass a vote.
With five Liberals and five opposition members sitting on the committee, the Tories can only win that vote if they have the support of all opposition MPs — as well as the Conservative chair.
Poilievre said the motion will also seek documents about the McKinsey contracts.
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