Government Operations committee  No.

Government Operations committee  I have a couple of thoughts. First of all, my deepest sympathies go to anybody who has had to deal with the opioid crisis. It is tragic. Second, I want to clarify, Mr. Chair, that McKinsey has done no work on opioids promotion in Canada. The work in the United States was below our standards.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I have not seen that interim report. This is the first that I have heard of the specifics on this. What I can say is that McKinsey works to follow all the policies and procurement procedures as dictated by the federal government.

Government Operations committee  Yes. I'd like to offer an example to explore this. This is a great question. For example, McKinsey has a tool called Digital Quotient. It's part of the national master standing offer. Digital Quotient is a dataset in which McKinsey has collected benchmarks on best practices, processes and structures in digital organizations.

Government Operations committee  I think we should separate the ideas of benchmarks and a process. A benchmark is a benchmark. Data has to be anonymized and it has to be secure. We respect that significantly and we have dedicated resources to ensuring that benchmarks that use proprietary data respect the proprietary nature of the data.

Government Operations committee  Sure. A benchmarking tool is a diagnostic tool. It helps identify where processes need to be changed. Then it's our job, in consultation with our client—in this case, the civil service—to take the diagnostic delivered by the benchmark and to work to customize the process around those elements for the environment in which we're working, for the people or for whatever the situation may be.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, we take client confidences very seriously and are bound, in many cases—or in all cases—by legal obligations. I'm here to comply and work with the committee. I'm happy to take that away and figure out how to think about that question.

Government Operations committee  I think this is great question. It's an important question. This is kind of the guts of what we're getting at.

Government Operations committee  Look, consultants can add a ton of value when used appropriately: when the scope is clear, the distinctive capabilities are complementary to what the federal government needs or what any client needs, there's a clear work plan, and there are clear deliverables. I would say that the government should ask where those situations are where they really need that expertise that we can bring to complement and stand up the civil service.

Government Operations committee  I think it's best if I let Dominic Barton and Dominic Barton's testimony stand. My personal experience in the interactions I've had is that they have been positive and terrific and that the civil service has really high-quality folks.

Government Operations committee  This, again, is a critical question. First of all, McKinsey takes client confidences and the management of client data very seriously. It is the core of who we are. As I said previously, the fact that we have been in business for a 100 years on this model, where two-thirds of our clients are long-standing repeat clients, provides evidence that we know how to manage this data.

Government Operations committee  McKinsey has not made and does not and will not make policy decisions. As you've heard from other witnesses at this committee, they have supported that point of view. We do not make policy.

Government Operations committee  Yes. I can't comment on the other consulting firms, but McKinsey does have significant accountability to Canadians. I'd like to offer an example. The government, when it puts contracts together with us, requires that we achieve certain performance standards for our contract to be continued.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  We do not advise on opioid sales and marketing in Canada.