Ottawa, ON – Stephanie Kusie, Conservative Shadow Minister for Treasury Board, and Kelly Block, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Services and Procurement, released the following statement after the Procurement Ombudsman found the Trudeau Government favoured McKinsey, a Liberal-connected firm with over $100 million in government contracts:
“After eight years of Justin Trudeau, millions of Canadians are struggling to afford the cost of living. Food banks had to manage a record two million visits in a single month last year, while families have to choose between filling up their car or heating their home. But while working Canadians are forced to make painful decisions, life has never been better for the well-connected Liberal insiders at McKinsey.
“Since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister, McKinsey has received over $100 million in contracts. Today, the Procurement Ombudsman found that the Trudeau Government favoured McKinsey when awarding government contracts, and reported that the Liberals changed the contract eligibility to ensure McKinsey was selected. The Liberal Government later switched to sole-sourcing these contracts directly to McKinsey without any competition.
“In one case, the Canadian Border Services Agency saw that McKinsey had not applied for a contract, so the CBSA revised the Statement of Work with no documented explanation, allowing McKinsey to qualify. There is no reason why federal Public Servants were unable to perform the tasks that were outsourced to McKinsey. Yet, Trudeau decided to favour his friends at McKinsey anyway.
“This isn’t a surprise. McKinsey was headed up by Dominic Barton, a close friend and advisor of Justin Trudeau and many members of the Liberal caucus. He was part of the Liberals’ Advisory Council on Economic Growth and their Indo-Pacific Advisory Committee, and it was Barton who introduced Trudeau when he went to speak at the World Economic Forum. It was also his idea to create the failed, scandal-plagued Canada Infrastructure Bank, and it was Barton and McKinsey who had to pay nearly $600 million in damages for helping to create the opioid crisis.
“Trudeau also decided to award McKinsey and his friend Dominic Barton over $100 million in spite of their long history of unethical dealings. This includes ‘supercharging’ opioid sales and investigations for corruption and fraud in both South Africa and France. They also held a company retreat just miles away from a Uighur detention centre.
“Common Sense Conservatives will end the corruption and fix the budget by firing the high-priced Liberal consultants.”