Government Operations committee  They would certainly not be in the position they are if they did not provide value. However, providing value by working with two parties with opposing interests, for me, is not very ethical. They do provide value in every instance, or else they would not be in business. There ar

Government Operations committee  As I said to your colleague about half an hour ago, I have no direct knowledge except for the public knowledge that is in books, articles and such, but there is one thing that I can remember. In one instance, McKinsey got a contract with National Defence about harassment and sexu

Government Operations committee  I'm sorry. I cannot say I fully understand your question.

Government Operations committee  I understand you're asking if Canada is out of step in comparison to other countries. I would say that Canada is doing pretty much the same thing that France has done. In terms of all other countries I know about or that are reported in the book that I showed earlier, Canada is

Government Operations committee  I'm not saying at all that the government does not have internal capacity. On the contrary, I think we have a very competent public service. I think that—and this is something that the French Senate also said—we are doing too much consulting, and it's a nuisance for the people wo

Government Operations committee  Secrecy, to my mind, does harm to the credibility of the clients, whether they are governments or organizations. That's why I said in the beginning that this culture of secrecy is very, very harmful for McKinsey, for all the clients and for the governments involved. I don't kn

Government Operations committee  I do not have any privileged information. However, I read the comments made by Immigration and Citizenship employees, which were reported in Mr. Gerbet's articles. Some officials said, off the record of course, that immigration is a very complex issue and you cannot barge in and

Government Operations committee  It is extremely important, especially since it is a federal-provincial jurisdiction. Many people have to be involved in the area of immigration. However, at this time, I do not believe that all these criteria have been met.

Government Operations committee  If I didn't find it odd, I would not have told Radio‑Canada on two occasions that I was very worried. I realize it, and I am very worried. That is not normal. Either there is a contract or there isn't one. If you ask for the contracts under the Access to Information Act, why are

Government Operations committee  As I said before, my comments are based solely on the information in this book and what I can read publicly.

Government Operations committee  I will simplify my answer: The only information I have is public information.

Government Operations committee  I do not think I said anything along those lines today. I'm sorry to contradict you.

Government Operations committee  I have no information about any contract signed by the government with a consulting company. To my knowledge, I never said that the government had treated any company differently.

Government Operations committee  That depends on the level of secrecy required. Yes, we can say that several consulting firms will require a certain secrecy. In my opinion, it is not to the extent we see with McKinsey.

Government Operations committee  The culture of secrecy is enforced by McKinsey itself. They have the clients agree to that secrecy. I don't think they could exist without that secrecy. That secrecy, in turn, is what's causing the problem. We are here today because of that secrecy. We don't know what's going o