Feds tighten grip on consultant contracts with new procurement rules, $20M cap on time-based work
New procurement rules include a $20-million limit on time- and task-based contracts, stricter oversight, and mandatory value-for-money reviews.
More cash and new alliances show Ottawa is serious about defence, say observers
Prime Minister Mark Carney put his $9-billion defence spending pledge before Parliament ‘about as fast as he conceivably could have,’ says defence procurement expert David Perry.
F-35 audit a costly reminder to make bureaucrats accountable
The public service needs a culture of outcomes, not optics. That means making executives accountable, and, yes, having the courage to dismiss those who fail in ways that cost Canadians millions.
‘Too many rules’: AG urges feds to streamline procurement, reduce outsourcing
Auditor General Karen Hogan says ‘worrying observations’ around procurement processes need to be addressed.
PSPC refers two new procurement fraud cases to RCMP; feds take GC Strategies, subcontractor to court over billing practices
The department says it is ‘actively pursuing the recovery of illegitimate amounts billed to the government and referring cases to the RCMP for criminal investigation.’
New minister Lightbound plans to tap AI to help to fix procurement, government efficiency woes
With billions of dollars on the line and intense public scrutiny, Government Transformation and Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound says adopting new technologies is ‘precisely one way to achieve [efficiency] without increasing the size of our public service.’
Auditor general says feds didn’t get value for money in dozens of GC Strategies contracts
GC Strategies, the beleaguered Ottawa-based firm that was the primary contractor for the ArriveCan app, was awarded dozens of government contracts between 2015 and 2024 at a total value of over $92-million.
Shrinking the bureaucratic behemoth
The old playbook of trimming travel budgets and giving departments arbitrary cut targets won’t cut it.
Carney is already short-changing transparency
The cabinet mandate letter sends a signal to expect even greater centralized control and messaging that is not conducive to the free flow of information in Ottawa.
Federal public service cut by nearly 10,000 jobs, new data shows
The 2.7 per cent dip as of March 2025 represents the first time the public service hasn’t grown since 2015, which experts say isn’t surprising given the Liberal government’s 2024 budget forecast the population to shrink by attrition.
