(Ottawa) The former big boss of the McKinsey firm denied Wednesday having a relationship of friendship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, contrary to what the Conservatives are claiming. A parliamentary committee investigation is trying to shed light on the hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts awarded to the consulting firm by the federal government.
“No, I’m not a friend,” he said in response to a question from Alberta Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie, who bombarded him with questions about the nature of his relationship with Mr. Trudeau.
“I have a professional relationship with him,” he added, adding that he did not have his personal phone number and had never been in a room alone with him.
He also admitted that he did not know Mr. Trudeau until 2013 because he had lived in Asia for a long time and followed less what was happening in Canada. The Prime Minister was then leader of the third opposition party in the House of Commons.
He has repeatedly stated that he was never involved in McKinsey’s contracts with the Canadian government since as the big boss he did not work directly with customers. Dominic Barton is the co-founder of the consulting firm. He led it until 2018. A year later, he was appointed Canadian Ambassador to China, a position he held until 2021.
Further details will follow.