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Government Operations committee  I have no evidence to point to about whether there was favouritism involved. One of the best arrangements for contracting is to leave it at the professional public service level to make those kinds of judgments so that there isn't micromanagement by ministers or direct involvement by ministers.

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Government Operations committee  Yes, I am concerned about the growing use of consultants to do core functions of government, such as policy advisory work and, in particular, any application of policy. That belongs in the hands of the public service. Other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, have embarked on programs to reduce their reliance on outside firms for core governing purposes.

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Government Operations committee  One of the problems for outside observers like me—and for members of Parliament, I would say—is that the most interesting parts of the decision-making process are cloaked in confidentiality and secrecy. You really can't see the main decision-making point. I would observe, based on past research on the contracting process, that consultants develop very close working relationships with senior public servants and even with ministers.

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Government Operations committee  No. As per my disclaimer at the start, I have none.

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Government Operations committee  Okay. I suggest that there are some criteria, but they're generally quite vague, and certain activities should not be candidates for outsourcing. Diminished policy capacity within the public service and a lack of confidence in the willingness of senior public servants to speak truth to power may have contributed to the trend towards reliance on consultants as policy advisers.

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the opportunity. I read and listened to the testimony before this committee, but I don't have specialized knowledge about the McKinsey case. Therefore, my remarks will necessarily be rather general in nature. I encourage the committee to study the topic of contracting in all of its many forms in future work.

February 13th, 2023Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It will help cure your insomnia.

June 7th, 2018Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I didn't say that very well. Let me clarify. Elections Canada can't get into the business of exhorting people to get out and vote. They can tell them what the requirements for voting are, how to vote, and the convenience factor about alternative ways of voting, such as voting from the home, for example.

June 7th, 2018Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. If you read my brief, you'll see that my compliments go beyond simply what I have said today. I recognize that you did an extensive review and three reports and heard from the acting CEO and maybe Mr. Mayrand before that, so I know you've studied this. That's why I thought the work shouldn't be swamped by the late arrival of this bill.

June 7th, 2018Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We're trying to do a great deal in this bill. Traditionally, reform to election law has been done incrementally, ideally on the basis of as much all-party consensus as possible. In recent years, we've had partisan entanglements over election law reforms, because maybe we've tried to do too much, too sweeping changes, and so on.

June 7th, 2018Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I know, but that—

June 7th, 2018Committee meeting

Dr. Paul Thomas