McKinsey contracts probe will see committee press minister over awards – National | 24CA News

Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek will probably be within the scorching seat throughout a House of Commons committee assembly on Monday, the place she’ll face questions as a part of a probe right into a spike in contracts awarded to the consulting agency McKinsey for the reason that Liberals had been elected in 2015.

The House of Commons authorities operations and estimates committee agreed to launch a examine into the contracts after experiences emerged that offers with McKinsey elevated underneath the Liberals in contrast with when the federal Conservatives had been in energy.

Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s authorities was elected in 2015, the consulting agency has been awarded 24 contracts price $104.6 million, in accordance with knowledge supplied by Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Radio-Canada has reported that the Conservatives awarded $2.2 million in contracts to McKinsey over the 9 years that occasion was in energy.

Following the experiences, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre known as for a probe into contracts awarded to the agency, a name the federal government operations and estimates committee answered when it voted to launch the examine on Jan. 18.

“We want to know what all this money was for,” Poilievre stated, talking at a press convention earlier final month.

4:43‘I am not a friend’ of Trudeau, ex-McKinsey head Dominic Barton says amid contract probe

Poilievre additionally expressed issues in regards to the potential affect of the agency, and Trudeau’s resolution to nominate former McKinsey director Dominic Barton as his ambassador to China for simply over two years, ending in 2021.

Barton testified earlier than the federal government operations and estimates committee final week, the place he expressed disbelief that he was being portrayed as a “puppet” of the Liberal authorities. He stated he had needed to “give back” and “help” his nation after residing in Asia for many years when he was named ambassador.

The former ambassador additionally pushed again on MPs’ recommendations that he’s a private good friend of Trudeau or different high ministers, like Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and former finance minister Bill Morneau. Barton chaired the federal government’s advisory council on financial development in 2017.

“It was a professional relationship, there was respect, there were always people in the room,” he instructed the committee after flattering feedback from Trudeau, Freeland and Morneau about him had been learn into the document.

“I am not a friend.”

Meanwhile, Trudeau has tasked Jaczek and Treasury Board President Mona Fortier with trying into the contracts granted to McKinsey.

“We will do a followup to ensure it was done the right way and to see if we need to modify or change the rules,” Trudeau stated, talking in French in mid-January.

When pressed on the problem throughout query interval final week, Jaczek stated the federal government is “committed” to making sure its contracts “stand up to the highest standards.”

“I will be testifying on Monday at the government operations committee, along with my officials, and I look forward to answering the opposition’s questions more fulsomely at that time,” she stated.

Fortier, who was additionally pressed on the problem throughout query interval on Feb. 2, promised that she and Jaczek will “get to the bottom of this.”

“It is important to know that we are upholding the highest standards of openness, transparency and fiscal accountability,” Fortier stated.

— with information from Global News’ Sean Boynton

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