Public Accounts

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts met to resume consideration of report 5, professional services contracts, of the 2024 reports 5 to 7 of the Auditor General of Canada. Appearing were Todd Stack, Chief Financial Officer of Trans Mountain Corporation, and Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General of the Office of the Auditor General.

Todd Stack stated that Trans Mountain Corporation welcomed the Auditor General's oversight and had acted on the single recommendation to improve conflict of interest safeguards by implementing a more proactive declaration process and annual mandatory training. He confirmed that the $33-million non-competitive contract with McKinsey & Company was awarded internally without outside influence, was approved by senior leadership including then-CEO Dawn Farrell, and was extended because it generated value through cost and productivity initiatives. Stack noted that the company is on track to return over $1.7 billion to the federal government in 2025 and intends to repay the full $34 billion advanced by the government, but he deferred detailed cost-overrun explanations to the ongoing Canada Energy Regulator process and said the company is not actively marketing itself for sale.

Andrew Hayes explained that the Auditor General's report found a frequent disregard for procurement and conflict of interest rules across departments and Crown corporations, and that the key issue is ensuring rules are understood and applied rather than creating new ones. He noted that Trans Mountain Corporation, as a subsidiary of a Crown corporation, operates at arm's length from central government policies, which gives it more latitude but also heightens the responsibility to keep taxpayer interests in mind. Hayes added that the finding specific to Trans Mountain was the lack of a clear sole-source justification linking the non-competitive contract to its policies, which raised questions about transparency and value for money.

During questioning, Stack confirmed that Gerald Butts was not involved in recommending McKinsey and that he was not aware of any conflict of interest or whistle-blower complaints related to the contract. He acknowledged that the contract was approved at the executive level and that documentation was completed after the fact. Stack also committed to reviewing new Treasury Board procurement rules for potential application at Trans Mountain.

The committee briefly discussed procedural matters, including the power to summon witnesses by motion and the cancellation of a future meeting.