Dominic Barton, former McKinsey head, to face MP questions over contract concerns – National

Dominic Barton, a former ambassador and past director of consulting firm McKinsey, is set to face questions from members of Parliament amid concerns about the number of contracts it has received under the current Liberal government.

Barton will appear before the House of Commons government operations and estimates committee at 4:30 p.m. ET, where he’ll be pressed about the 24 contracts worth $104.6 million that federal officials say have been awarded to McKinsey since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was elected in 2015.

The committee is also reviewing contracts awarded to the firm since 2011, which includes those signed by the preceding Conservative government.

McKinsey’s contracts with the federal government have come under scrutiny following recent media reports that the deals have increased under the Liberals compared with when the federal Conservatives were in power.

Radio-Canada reported that the Conservatives awarded $2.2 million in contracts to McKinsey over the nine years that party was in power.

Global News has not independently verified the Radio-Canada report but has confirmed the total value of the awards given to McKinsey is $104.6 million, according to Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Following the reports, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for a probe into the jump in contracts awarded to the firm, a call the government operations and estimates committee answered when it voted to launch the study on Jan. 18.

“We want to know what all this money was for,” Poilievre said, speaking at a press conference earlier last month.

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Poilievre demands answers on McKinsey contracts with Trudeau government

The Conservative leader said he hopes for answers about the potential influence of the firm — and about Trudeau’s decision to appoint former McKinsey director Barton as his ambassador to China for just over two years, ending in 2021.