Evidence of meeting #49 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was know.
A video is available from Parliament.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
You don't know what he was doing on that side. That's another thing you don't know, then.
Is that fair enough?
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
It's something you don't know. Is that correct?
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
All right.
I wanted to follow up on the issue of McKinsey's work for Purdue, aside from what you did or did not know. I would at least appreciate your opinion on one point.
McKinsey has been forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate victims of the opioid crisis in the United States. However, to date it has not paid out any compensation in Canada.
Do you think Canadians who have suffered as a result of the opioid crisis should be entitled to the same compensation from McKinsey that was paid out in the United States?
5:55 p.m.
As an Individual
You should talk to McKinsey about that. That was a settlement in the U.S. That was a settlement because—
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Canadians were victims of the opioid crisis as well.
Should Canadians not—
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Do you not have an opinion on that, though?
5:55 p.m.
As an Individual
I don't know the details. I don't know what role McKinsey played in that at all.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Even if you didn't know about it at the time, weren't you sort of interested in reading about it afterwards to understand the fact that the company you led has been involved in causing this massive public health crisis that has killed, by now, probably hundreds of thousands of people?
5:55 p.m.
As an Individual
There you go again, saying that we're responsible for the entire thing. I totally disagree with that.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
You paid $600 million in compensation. That implies that there was some level of responsibility, surely. People generally don't pay that level of compensation if they're not.
6 p.m.
Conservative
6 p.m.
As an Individual
Can I just explain something first?
Maybe you're not familiar with how settlements work, but in settlements, there's a huge amount of litigation that could occur. We could have been in the courts in the U.S. government for a decade.
What we decided to do, I'm sorry to say that—
6 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
You just said you made a mistake.
What was the mistake?
6 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
No, I'm sorry. It's my time.
What was the mistake?
6 p.m.
As an Individual
The mistake was not realizing what Purdue was doing in the system and, as you said, stopping work with that client. That's the mistake.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Right. What were Purdue doing that you didn't realize they were doing?
6 p.m.
As an Individual
I don't have the details on that. My understanding is that they were playing a role in broadening the use of opioids in the U.S.
6 p.m.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
It was McKinsey that was advising them on how to turbocharge those sales. Turbocharging sales was in the title of the project you did for them.