The parliamentary inquiry into the relationship between the federal government and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company began on Wednesday with the previously stated aim of inviting federal ministers and members of the multinational’s top management level to testify.
Among the guests should also be the former head of McKinsey in Canada, Dominic Barton. He knows the company like the back of his hand, having been there for more than thirty years.
Mr. Barton, who other party leaders in Ottawa say is close to Justin Trudeau, is now president of mining giant Rio Tinto.
The leader was appointed Canadian Ambassador to China in 2019. He was primarily chosen to try and settle matters between the two Michaels, who were eventually released in 2021 while still being Canada’s representatives in China.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates does not have the power that a commissioner would have in connection with a public inquiry to compel testimony from anyone.
For their study, the parliamentarians decided to go back to 2011, the year in which Stephen Harper’s Conservatives assumed their majority government.
Since Justin Trudeau took office in 2015, the federal government has issued no less than $101 million in consulting fees from McKinsey & Company, broken down into 23 contracts.
The number raised eyebrows from everyone, even Justin Trudeau. The latter reiterated on Wednesday that he had asked two of his ministers to “follow up” those contracts.
These were awarded by civil servants, the prime minister claimed, and “most of these contracts were selected through an open selection process”.
“I also very much welcome the work that the government committee will begin today to ensure that Canadians have actually received value for their investments,” he said on the sidelines of a news conference in Shawinigan.