Question Period Note: Procurement & Use of Consultants

What is being done to ensure the contractors are being used prudently?

• I expect all spending to be well managed and directed to priorities that provide value for Canadians.
• This is why we have committed to reducing spending on management and other consulting services by 20% over the next three years.
• This will result in savings of $450M in 2027-28, and $900M annually from 2028-29 onward.
• Work to reduce spending this area is already underway.

If pressed on why the Government uses professional services:
• The use of professional and special services is a normal part of government operations.
• For example, the government uses contracting to hire construction firms to build and maintain various assets, to secure nurses for health care in the north, and to manage contaminated sites across the country.
• Very little of what the government spends goes to management consultants.
If pressed on IT contracting:
• While contracting for IT services is sometimes necessary, we are focused on building our own digital workforce.
• Through our Digital Talent Strategy, we are investing in skills development and training so the federal public service has the in-house talent needed to deliver secure and efficient digital services.
If pressed on measures being taken to improve procurement:
• To strengthen procurement oversight the government has:
o Updated the Manager’s Guide and introduced new mandatory procedures for procuring professional services.
o Published the Directive on Digital Talent to support the development of a robust internal digital workforce, establishing reasonable thresholds for departments to ascertain whether qualified talent is available before contracting out.
o Completed a horizontal audit to evaluate governance, decision-making, and contracting controls. The audit found that we have processes in place to manage and oversee procurement, in compliance with roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.
o Developed a new Risk and Compliance Process to assess controls and risk in procurement and other key administrative areas, which was launched in June 2025.

• Contracted services have always been an important part of how the government delivers programs and services to Canadians. For example, professional services might be needed to acquire special expertise, to meet unexpected fluctuations in workload, or complement the work of the professional public service.

• “Professional and Special Services” is a broad category of the Public Accounts that includes a wide range of services such as engineering and architectural services, legal services, and health and welfare services, among others. It represented less than 5% of the total government expenditures in 2025.

• The increase in Professional Services expenditures compared to last year is largely attributable to increases in engineering and architectural services for National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Canadian Space Agency, health and welfare services, and other services for specialized training services.

• Since April 2024, the government has taken a number of concrete actions to strengthen procurement oversight and reduce departments’ use of management and IT consultants, including:

o Updated the Manager’s Guide and introduced new mandatory procedures for procuring professional services.
o Published the Directive on Digital Talent to support the development of a robust internal digital workforce, establishing reasonable thresholds for departments to ascertain whether qualified talent is available before contracting out.
o Completed a horizontal audit to evaluate governance, decision-making, and contracting controls and took concrete actions to enhance mechanisms to identify procurement related risks and non-compliance through a new Risk and Compliance process.
o Developed a Risk and Compliance Process to assess controls and risk in procurement and other key administrative areas, which was launched in June 2025.

• The 2026 Spring Economic Update includes a commitment to reducing spending on external management and other consulting services by 20% over the next three years, achieving savings of $450M in 2027-28, and $900M annually from 2028-29 onward.

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