Thank you, Chair.
Auditor General, we're here looking at the government's cozy relationship with McKinsey. Thank you again for your excellent work exposing significant problems and the $200 million in contracts that have gone to McKinsey under this government, most of which in some way or another did not adhere to the rules.
You have just mentioned the important role that PSPC, the government's contracting department, is supposed to play, and could have played, in challenging some of these procurements. In that light, I think it's interesting to note that the director of policy to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Mr. Boyan Gerasimov, had this critical role of director of policy in the public services and procurement minister's office during the critical period of the pandemic, from March 2020 until December 2021. He is McKinsey “alum”. He served with McKinsey for more than five years as an engagement manager. He went from working with McKinsey into this Liberal government in an important senior staff role. His LinkedIn specifically cites work he did in relation to major defence equipment procurements.
So in this critical role in government procurement in the public services and procurement minister's office, under then minister Anita Anand, you have a former McKinsey employee. You've highlighted that the government's contracting department that he was working for could have provided a greater challenge function and didn't. We have also seen how the defence department in particular had a very close, extensive relationship with McKinsey. This is quite concerning to me. It underlines the close relationships that exist between McKinsey and this Liberal government.
I wonder if you could share a bit more about what role the minister's office did play, or could have played, in providing a challenge function around this extensive procurement relationship that emerged, and what conclusions we might be able to draw about the role that the director of policy in then minister Anand's office should have been playing, could have been playing and did play in relation to these procurements.