Evidence of meeting #51 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 bdc.
A video is available from Parliament.
6:05 p.m.
Conservative
6:05 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
Members of management or senior management.
6:05 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
So, people who work at BDC.
You said that the bidding process was open and transparent.
Were there any particular criteria that might have been preferential to McKinsey?
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President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
We always use the same matrix of criteria for tender calls. None had been changed to favour any particular firm.
6:05 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
So you are confirming that there were no discussions with the Government of Canada, the Prime Minister, or the Prime Minister's Office concerning McKinsey.
Is that correct?
6:05 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
None whatsoever.
6:05 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
All right.
The process that led to the selection of McKinsey caused some frustration internally.
Where did the discord, following the decision to retain the services of McKinsey, come from?
Was it from senior officials?
6:05 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
No one ever expressed any frustration to me personally, Mr. Paul-Hus.
6:05 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
All right.
You were never told directly of any frustration, but who talked to the media and told them about their dissatisfaction with your decision, your board of directors' decision?
Do you know?
6:05 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
I can't corroborate anything that was said on the matter, because the sources were anonymous.
6:10 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Okay.
In connection with the names I asked you for earlier, could you send the list of the seven people who were on the selection committee, to our committee following the meeting?
6:10 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
Of course.
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Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
I would imagine that information about the BDC board of directors is public.
Is that the case?
6:10 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
It is.
6:10 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
The question being raised now is related to the fact that the Government of Canada did business with McKinsey to obtain several analyses and determine the government's policy directions.
According to you, did BDC deal with a company like McKinsey because there were no internal resources available, that there would be no opportunity to have an internal team to prepare a strategic plan for BDC?
Was it necessary to bring in an outside firm?
6:10 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
Using an external firm was the right decision at that time for several reasons.
The component covering current activities for all BDC employees was already quite a burden. Being able to have access to additional data, expertise and knowledge to address internal requirements was, at that particular time, the right decision to make. The country had only just begun to come out of the pandemic, and it was going through a period of economic upheaval. At the BDC, we wanted to be in a position to properly understand what the future would be like for SMEs in Canada.
6:10 p.m.
Conservative
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
My final question will be brief.
Do you know Mr. Dominic Barton personally?
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President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
I met Mr. Dominic Barton for the first time in 2019.
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Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kelly McCauley
Thank you, Mr. Paul-Hus.
We'll now go to Mr. Bains for six minutes, please.
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Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to Ms. Hudon for joining us today.
A January 2023 CBC News article explained that the Business Development Bank of Canada ordered a competitive contract for $2.8 million plus a $2.1-million extension to McKinsey as part of a strategic review process.
What were the goals of this strategic review?
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President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
The goal of the strategic review was to help us...or not help us, but for us to be able to understand what the future would be for our SMEs in Canada, and especially how a development bank, such as BDC, could play a greater role to support our SME ecosystem.
It was really to go onward and forward and to better understand what we would need to do differently, more or less, to be the real development bank that BDC has been for the last 78 years.
6:10 p.m.
Liberal
February 8th, 2023 / 6:10 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Development Bank of Canada
I am, to this date, very satisfied with the process. I say this because, of course, McKinsey brought some deep understanding of our sector capacity around analytical skills. I was also very pleased with the process, because more than 400 of my colleagues embarked on the journey along with the executive team and the board of directors. This was the real success of the review.
6:10 p.m.
Liberal
Parm Bains Liberal Steveston—Richmond East, BC
If we were to compare, how was McKinsey's strategic review different from previous ones that were conducted for BDC?