Evidence of meeting #32 for Public Accounts in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was contract.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:55 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Are you satisfied, Mr. Wouters, that all those Treasury Board policy guidelines and procedures were complied with, yes or no?
11:55 a.m.
Secretary of the Treasury Board
I'm just saying, in terms of the minister, he had the authority to basically take the action he decided on. Therefore, under his guidelines, under the guidelines from ministers, he must ensure, in taking those actions, that he is complying with the regulations and the policies that we set out.
Noon
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
On behalf of the committee, I want to thank you, Mr. Wouters and Mr. Wright.
We're going to suspend for about 30 seconds and set up for the next two witnesses.
Thank you very much.
12:02 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
I'd like to call the meeting back to order.
On behalf of the committee, I want to welcome Mr. Hugh MacPhie and Ms. Sara Beth Mintz.
Do you have an opening comment, Mr. MacPhie, any opening statements?
12:02 p.m.
As an Individual
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman and honourable members of the committee, mesdames et messieurs, I welcome the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Hugh MacPhie, and I'm here today representing MacPhie & Company.
Our firm was honoured to serve the government and proud of the work we delivered through the engagements with the Department of Finance that we had, and especially the 2007 federal budget. We worked hard, to the very best of our ability, and we provided value for the professional services that we provided, as we do in all our client engagements.
Today I would like to share with you some background related to our firm, provide you with context and factual specifics related to MacPhie & Company's contributions to the 2007 budget, and respond to any questions you may have.
12:02 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Mr. MacPhie, I apologize for interrupting, but you have five minutes.
12:02 p.m.
As an Individual
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll carry on.
MacPhie & Company is a professional services firm that specializes in strategic planning and communications. Yes, our firm is small, but we compensate for what we don't have in the number of staff members through the talents of the professionals on our team and through the passion for our client engagements. Also, we just plain work hard.
Our company has grown quickly and we have served clients in telecommunications firms, high-tech companies, health care organizations, financial services, engineering companies, advertising agencies, national charities, the tourism industry, management consulting firms, industry associations, the energy sector, and all levels of government.
Mr. Chairman and committee members, the budget process is time-consuming. It forces you up an incredibly steep learning curve in terms of content knowledge, and it requires a blend of congenial teamwork and unrelenting focus on the task at hand.
Reflecting upon other federal budgets, veterans of the Department of Finance said that Budget 2007 was one of the largest budgets in recent memory in terms of the number of pages and supplementary materials. Over the course of our work on Budget 2007, my colleague and I worked for over 800 hours. There were few, if any, days off. Working closely with the Department of Finance and the minister's office, our work included, but was not limited to, developing a comprehensive communications strategy and editing communications products, including the budget plan, the budget fanfolds, video scripts for the Department of Finance, the briefing book, and chapter highlights. It involved drafting the budget speech. It involved developing messages and strategic approaches to budget communications; drafting a speech strategy for the minister's budget speech; managing the timelines and critical path of key budget-related communications; providing creative suggestions, counsel, and planning related to pre- and post-budget events; acting as liaison between the minister's office and the Department of Finance for budget-related communications products; coordinating revisions to communications materials from the minister's office to the Department of Finance; attending detailed budget page-turner meetings, which involved going page-by-page through the budget plan, the briefing book, and fiscal-balance materials; developing and conducting budget lock-up presentations for cabinet ministers and government caucus staff; attending pre-budget speech and media training and practice sessions with the minister; and fact-checking communications materials for accuracy and consistency.
This is but a sampling of the work we were asked to complete as part of the Budget 2007 process.
There has been some talk, both in the House of Commons and in the media, that MacPhie & Company was involved with writing the 2007 budget speech. That's true, but as I have just demonstrated, helping with the budget speech itself was but a small part of the work we delivered. Working closely with the minister, his office, and the Department of Finance, we worked hard to build a speech that would clearly outline the key themes of the budget and inspire Canadians to believe in themselves and in their country.
We are very proud of the work we did related to Budget 2007. The taxpayers of Canada received value for money. We delivered our work professionally and within a very short timeframe.
I must add that we were extremely impressed with the level of dedication, professionalism, and passion that we found among staff working within the Department of Finance and in the minister's office. These are hard-working people who, like us, truly went above and beyond the call to deliver the federal budget. It was our pleasure to work with them.
Honourable francophone members of the committee, I would ask for your indulgence in allowing me to respond to your questions in English, my mother tongue.
The value of the professional service we provided greatly exceeded the amount charged to the Department of Finance for those services. Furthermore, we incurred nearly $14,000 in expenses related to work on Budget 2007. Not one dime of those expenses was charged back to the Department of Finance.
Thank you very much.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Thank you very much, Mr. MacPhie.
Ms. Mintz, do you have some opening comments?
12:05 p.m.
Sara Beth Mintz As an Individual
Mr. Chairman and honourable members of the committee, my name is Sara Beth Mintz. I'm here today voluntarily in response to this committee's invitation to appear concerning the study on the subject of untendered contracts in relation to the preparation of Budget 2007.
In mid-December 2006 I was asked if I was available to come to Ottawa to work on Budget 2007. I was honoured to be asked. As a student of politics, law, and business, I was being offered the opportunity to use my education and skills to serve the public.
It was agreed that I would begin working on Budget 2007 in mid-January, and would be compensated up to $24,900 for work performed. I signed a contract, which provided that I would be paid a sum not to exceed $24,900. It was a condition of the contract that I would be personally responsible for all of my living expenses and any expenses in relation to my fulfilling the contract.
On January 22, 2007, I joined the budget team, and over the course of the next two months I worked long hours: six days a week on average. In March I worked 18 days straight in the lead-up to the presentation of Budget 2007.
I would now like to address my qualifications. In 1999 I graduated with an honours bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Western Ontario. I was accepted into the concurrent honours business administration program at the Richard Ivey School of Business and the bachelor of laws program at the University of Western Ontario. I completed this program in 2003, and was called to the bar of Ontario in 2004.
Each summer during my undergraduate degree I returned home to Dundas, Ontario, where I worked for my local MPP in his constituency office. In 2000 I applied to the summer intern program at Queen's Park. I was placed by the then-premier's office in Minister Flaherty's office, who at the time was the Attorney General for Ontario and the minister of native affairs. Prior to my placement,I had never met Minister Flaherty.
During this tenure I developed a professional relationship with Minister Flaherty. One of my major responsibilities was to provide background research and recommendations on several policy initiatives. The most interesting research project involved reviewing and considering a policy for Ontario on the sexual exploitation of children, which resulted in the Rescuing Children from Sexual Exploitation Act being passed in June 2002.
During my time in Minister Flaherty's office I developed a deep respect of his work ethic, his intellectual capacity, and most importantly, his devotion to public service.
In summer 2001 I worked in the office of the Honourable Michael D. Harris, Premier of Ontario, in issues management and question period preparation. In summer 2002 I was again placed in the premier's office. After graduating in 2003 with my HBA and LLB degrees, I began working in the private sector, first as an articling student, and then as a lawyer after my call to the bar.
I would now like to address my responsibilities on Budget 2007, which included the following: analysis of and advising the minister concerning appropriate policy inclusion; meeting with minister's staff concerning their department budgetary funding requests; contributing to policy development; and organizing and managing Budget 2007 day events.
I have been involved in the political process for most of my life. I have volunteered many hours of my time to participate in nomination races, leadership contests, and elections. I have served on my provincial riding executive. Most recently, I served on the Ontario PC Party executive as the fifth vice-president. I volunteered for Minister Flaherty during both of his leadership races. I have been at every provincial PC convention held for as long as I can remember. I am proud of my political involvement and my history of public service.
When I received the call to work on Budget 2007 I was deeply honoured to be asked. I was aware that by accepting the contract I was forgoing lucrative work at a private law firm. I knew that accepting the position would be a great sacrifice, not only professionally and personally, but also financially.
I accepted this position for many reasons: my loyalty and respect for the minister, my interest in public policy work, and my commitment to public service. But the underlying and fundamental reason is that I was called upon to use my knowledge and abilities to serve the Canadian people, and I when I received the call I answered it willingly and without hesitation.
I would be pleased to answer your questions now.
Thank you.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
Thank you very much, Ms. Mintz.
We're going to go right to the first round, and that is Mr. McCallum. You have seven minutes, Mr. McCallum.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And thank you to both of you for appearing before us today.
I'd like to start with Mr. MacPhie. I wonder if you could give us an idea of how many people are in your company and where the headquarters are.
12:10 p.m.
As an Individual
I'd be proud to do so, sir. MacPhie & Company, as I said in my opening statement, is a small business. I formed the firm approximately four and a half or five years ago--
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Sorry, there's quite a lot I want to cover. Could you just tell me how many people and where it is located?
12:10 p.m.
As an Individual
Okay, I'd be happy to. There are four people who work in MacPhie & Company, and we work in Toronto, Ontario.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Do you work out of your residence, or do you have offices separate from your residence?
12:10 p.m.
As an Individual
This is a matter of great debate within our firm, sir. We currently work out of our own homes, which as many would know is efficient and contributes to productivity, but we're debating among ourselves as to whether or not office space is appropriate.
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Okay, thank you.
Prior to Mr. Flaherty becoming the federal finance minister, had you received any contracts with the federal government?
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Okay.
The case under discussion right now I believe is a $122,000 contract. Since Mr. Flaherty became Minister of Finance, can you tell us whether you have other contracts with the federal government, and if so, what are they?
12:10 p.m.
As an Individual
I will try to recall with as much precision as I can for you, sir.
I would begin by saying, though, that it is a policy of our firm, when we go into any client engagement, to do the best we can and to wow our clients.
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Please, I don't want to cut you off, but I do have limited time and I'd like you to answer the questions quite precisely.
What other contracts do you have with the federal government, and with which departments?
12:15 p.m.
As an Individual
At present, sir, there are no contracts that MacPhie & Company has.
12:15 p.m.
Liberal
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Which contracts did you receive since Mr. Flaherty became Minister of Finance, other than the one with the Department of Finance we're talking about today?