Conservative MPs Stephanie Kusie (Calgary-Midnapore, AB) and Kelly Block (Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek, SK) said it is unacceptable the Procurement Ombudsman found the Canadian government favoured global consulting company McKinsey for deals. After eight years of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Kusie and Block said 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,” said Kusie and Block in a Monday statement. “But while working Canadians are forced to make painful decisions, life has never been better for the well-connected Liberal insiders at McKinsey.”Since Trudeau became prime minister, McKinsey has received more than $100 million in contracts. The Procurement Ombudsman found the Canadian government favoured it when awarding government contracts and reported the Liberals changed the contract eligibility to ensure it was selected. The Canadian government later switched to sole-sourcing these contracts to it without any competition. In one case, the Canada Border Services Agency saw McKinsey had not applied for a contract, so it revised it with no documented explanation to allow it to qualify. Kusie and Block said there is no reason why public servants were unable to perform the tasks outsourced to it. They acknowledged this is unsurprising. McKinsey is headed up by Trudeau’s friend and advisor Dominic Barton. Barton was part of the Liberals’ Advisory Council on Economic Growth and the Indo-Pacific Advisory Committee, and he introduced Trudeau when he went to speak at the World Economic Forum. It was Barton’s idea to create the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and he and McKinsey had to pay about $600 million in damages for helping to create the opioid crisis. Kusie and Block concluded by saying Trudeau decided to award McKinsey and Barton more than $100 million, despite their long history of unethical dealings. This includes supercharging opioid sales and investigations for corruption and fraud in South Africa and France. “Common sense Conservatives will end the corruption and fix the budget by firing the high-priced Liberal consultants,” they said. The House of Commons voted 320-0 in 2023 to order a special audit of federal contracts to McKinsey. READ MORE: House of Commons votes unanimously to audit McKinsey contractsLiberal MPs endorsed the Conservative motion amid complaints opposition parties were looking for evidence of corruption. “The image they try to portray is one of corruption,” said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, MB).
