Mr. Chair, I was actually referring once again to a reduction that might make Quebeckers less inclined to use tax havens.
In budget 2023, amidst a big scandal over contracts awarded to McKinsey, the government announced that it would substantially reduce the budgets allocated to consulting firms. That never happened. Instead, the main estimates indicate that the amount allocated to consultants, that is, the “professional and special services” line item, will increase again this year by $7 billion, or 26%, from $19.1 billion to $26.1 billion.
Why can the government not honour its own commitment to reduce the use of external consultants, which is costing taxpayers a fortune?