Lawmakers question government witnesses about billions of dollars Ottawa spent on outsourcing deals, criticize level of oversight in House committees meeting October 3.
“Who looks after the taxpayers? Who ensures accountability?” asked Conservative MP Kerry McCauley. He said $16 billion was spent annually on outsourcing. That’s about a third of his $50 billion spent on salary annually.
In an email to the Epoch Times, Macquarie said the $16 billion figure was a figure he “heard hard.” He said he asked the finance committee how much money had been spent on outsourcing last year, but they didn’t provide it.
“My focus is on the huge sums going to Deloitte, McKinsey, etc. and the complete abandonment by TBS. [Treasury Board] about their oversight duties and lack of accountability from the department for spending,” McCauley wrote.
“Outsourcing has increased dramatically under liberals,” he added.
spend $24 billion on goods, services and construction
Molly Royce, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracts at the Department of Public Works, said the department “purchases about $24 billion worth of goods, services and construction from about 10,000 suppliers each year” on behalf of other federal organizations. I testified. She added, “Procurement ranges from office supplies to military equipment and everything in between.”
Emilio Franco, Executive Director of Contracts for the Finance Committee, said: “Audits are conducted by each organization’s internal audit department, many of which are publicly available on the department’s website, and an audit summary report is available for all. It’s open to the public.”
Franco said he would provide specific audits upon request from the commission.
McCauley asked committee members:
Within three weeks, McCauley said, three payments of $72,000 were made for security and event security services.
“Deloitte was hired on three separate occasions to ensure that contracts were signed fairly in a transparent manner. Repeating the same item three times in a row would amount to $250,000. … do you think that’s justified?” he said.
Royds can’t comment on the specific situation, but says, “There are many different reasons for outsourcing a particular task. There are many reasons, whether it’s an element of -house expertise.
When asked about whether anyone is tracking contract modifications and monitoring whether spending is priced the same as quoted, Franco said the federal government processes about 400,000 contracts a year. I said most of it was simple, straightforward, and consistent. initial contract value.
However, “there are a number of complex procurements conducted annually by the Government of Canada … These procurements are inherently complex. Often the deliverables and final results are uncertain,” he said.
These complex cases, which can add value, are not tracked at a “level of detail,” he added. “However, information is generally made public through disclosure practices, and we can say that all contracts and amendments over $10,000 are published on the Open Government Portal.”
Rep. Gord Johns, a Democrat, was concerned about the amount spent on individual consultants and questioned whether cuts in public services from 2010 to 2015 were responsible for the increase in outsourcing. . Lloyd’s replied that he could not talk about specific trends.
McCauley wanted to know how best to help taxpayers get the most out of their money. The Panel went on to say that responsibility for overseeing spending rests within the specific sector that spent it. They said they would try to bring specific departments forward to speak on specific examples upon request.
Outsourcing deal costs twice the original price: PIPSC
The Public Service Professionals Council of Canada (PIPSC) said in January 2020 that $11.9 billion was spent on outsourcing contracts from 2011 to 2018, with contracts costing double the original price. rice field.
“Shockingly, spending on IT consultants more than doubled from $605 million in 2011 to more than $1.3 billion in 2018, totaling $8.5 billion over that period. said PIPSC. press release.
“Come on. It should be easier to hire and train civil servants than to pay for shadow public services that cost twice as much.” [as] PIPSC President Debi Daviau said:
“It is time for the federal government to cut outsourcing and increase outsourcing requirements, just as the liberal government promised in 2015.”
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David Wagner is a reporter for the Epoch Times based in Winnipeg.