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IN THE NEWS – Hill Times - Dominic Barton: training in the federal civil service is ‘weak’

At the end of that meeting, NDP MP Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni, B.C.) put forward a motion for the for the committee to expand the scope of its study beyond McKinsey and Company, to include an examination of government consulting contracts with Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, KPMG, and Ernst & Young.

"We need to get to the bottom of it, we have not gotten to the bottom. We just went after the minor player in the $100-million-plus procurement club," said Johns in an interview with The Hill Times.

During the first two committee meetings, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal, Que.) repeatedly stressed that the committee had already been underway on a study of government outsourcing more generally, but that was now sidelined due to the McKinsey study. He questioned whether that study wouldn't have been more relevant to some of the testimony the committee was hearing for the McKinsey study.

Johns said his motion will open the topic back up to be a bigger discussion about government outsourcing, but that the committee will have more time to conduct this study (it has 11 meetings allotted for the current study on McKinsey, as opposed to the four it had allocated for its previous study).

"There's a lot of explaining to be done here. And I think we're just opening up the can of worms, just getting started. And when we have all six companies testify, then we'll have some pretty good recommendations back to government, how to put a stop to it," Johns said.

IN THE NEWS – iHeart Radio – NDP MP Gord Johns tells Moore In The Morning how a parliamentary committee was handed heavily redacted documents from the government surrounding the ArriveCAN app.

NDP MP Gord Johns tells Moore In The Morning how a parliamentary committee was handed heavily redacted documents from the government surrounding the ArriveCAN app.

IN THE NEWS – CBC - NDP wants probe of federal contracts with other consulting firms - not just McKinsey

NDP MP Gord Johns — who brought forward a motion to expand the scope of the study to include other consulting firms — suggested that large companies have an inside track on government contracts based on personal connections.

"What is McKinsey doing? Who does McKinsey know?" Johns asked, accusing both Liberal and Conservative governments of prioritizing the private sector over the public sector.

Johns said he wants the study to include other consultancies — such as Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, KPMG and Ernst & Young — to get a broader sense of public service outsourcing.

"We need to look at the whole scope of this thing and we need answers and we need all of these companies before this committee," Johns said. "They need to explain how they're getting these contracts."

IN THE NEWS – CTV News – Barton says he had nothing to do with federal contracts

New Democrats have been making the same argument, and they are hoping to see the committee expand its study to include other consulting firms that have received large contracts.

New Democrat MP Gord Johns aims to bring forward a motion at a committee hearing next Monday to expand the scope of the study to include other firms including Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, KPMG and Ernst & Young.

A researcher testifying before the committee earlier this week called the focus on McKinsey a distraction.

Amanda Clarke, an associate professor of public administration at Carleton University, said the study should focus on the public service's reliance on consulting firms overall.

"The focus on outsourcing and contracting in the federal government is the broad enough umbrella to get at these issues and any given firm," Clarke said Monday.

IN THE NEWS-Toronto Sun- NDP MP Gord Johns Seeks to probe federal contracts with other consulting firms

Ottawa- The NDP is calling on a House of Commons Committee to expand its study of federal contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company and include other consulting firms that have received large contracts. 

"Canadians are really upset to see that the Liberal government has given hundreds of millions of dollars to a private company instead of letting Canada's public service do the jobs we hired them to do," Gord Johns said in a press release. 

"We need to get to the bottom of how much money has been spent in contacting with private companies, outside of McKinsey, under both the Liberals and Conservatives"

IN THE NEWS- NDP urging the Liberals to stop breaking their health care promises and protect Canadians

NDP Mental Health and Harm Reduction critic Gord Johns made the following statement as the federal government’s decriminalization pilot program in British Columbia is set to start:

“Canada is in a public health crisis as thousands of Canadians struggle with their mental health and with substance use disorders. It is encouraging that all the efforts of the British Columbia’s NDP government have resulted in the removal of stigma for drug users through the decriminalization of substance use. There is, however, an urgent need for this same approach to be taken across the country. 

Outside of B.C., 14 Canadians die every single day because of the toxic drug crisis. And with the high costs and long waitlists to get help, people are being forced to turn to our already overwhelmed Emergency Rooms. Canadians want to see a real plan for mental health and addiction supports that include the provision of a safe regulated supply for users, on-demand treatment services and recovery and prevention programs across the country"

IN THE NEWS – Alberni Valley News – Industrial waterfront development, Indigenous issues on table as NDP leader visits Alberni Valley

Economic development on the waterfront was one of the main topics of discussion during a recent visit to Port Alberni, B.C. by federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

Singh was joined by Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns as he travelled to Port Alberni’s waterfront on Tuesday, Jan. 24 for a chance to see some of the new opportunities for economic growth. Johns said there are a number of “incredible” initiatives on the waterfront that are building economic resiliency in the Port Alberni region, which has seen many ups and downs over the years in the forestry and fishing sectors. Some of these initiatives include Coastal Restoration Society choosing Port Alberni as its Vancouver Island hub, the opening of The Dock+ food hub and the creation of Uchucklesaht First Nation’s Thunderbird Spirit Water.

IN THE NEWS – Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News – MP Johns urges justice for the late Ucluelet fisher Doug Kimoto

MP for Courtenay-Alberni Gord Johns paid tribute to the late Ucluelet fisher Doug Kimoto in a Nov. 29 speech delivered in the House of Commons.

“Mr. Speaker, Doug Kimoto spent almost 60 years dedicated to commercial salmon trolling and his family’s livelihood on the west coast of Vancouver Island. He was a tireless advocate for the salmon trolling industry and for salmon enhancement,” Johns said.

IN THE NEWS - CBC - Vancouver Island community fighting to prevent refugee claimant's deportation

The Vancouver Island community of Courtenay that she has called home in recent years is fighting to let her stay. MP Gord Johns has been working with the immigration minister's office to intervene, and Courtenay city council will vote Wednesday on a resolution calling on the immigration minister to delay the deportation.

"This is unacceptable," said Johns, who has been helping Mukadzambo fight the deportation since November.

"We need the ministry to intervene, halt the deportation order and protect Grace's safety and her security and also ensure that she's got a chance here in Canada where she's already participating and contributing and lifting up the community."

Mukadzambo came to Canada to find a safe place to live and work and to provide for her family in Zimbabwe. She lived in Edmonton for two years, where she worked as a housekeeping aid at a Greater Edmonton Foundation senior residence. After moving to Vancouver Island in 2020, she began working at four local service organizations.

IN THE NEWS-Victoria News- NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and MP Gord Johns talks health care with experts in Qualicum Beach

The federal NDP leader and Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns were in Qualicum Beach Tuesday (Jan 24) for a roundtable meeting of experts on seniors health care. Johns said the roundtable included health professionals, as well as people with lived experience in the health-care system. 

Johns said he and Singh head "loud and clear" from the experts that there is a "significant need" for retention, recruitment and support of health-care workers, including more supports for students who are studying in Canada to become doctors and nurses. 

"Good care comes when hospitals and long-term care homes are properly staffed", said Johns. "The most important way to improve health care is more health-care workers" 

IN THE NEWS- Gord urges Liberal Government to prioritize mental health support

OTTAWA – Last week, NDP Mental Health and Harm Reduction Critic Gord Johns sent a letter to the Minister of Finance urging her to prioritize mental health and substance use care in the government’s 2023 Federal Budget by creating better programs to support Canadians.

“Canadians need mental health supports. After doing everything right to protect our communities during a global pandemic, people have been experiencing extreme stress, anxiety and feelings of isolation. They need more access to services that can help them,” said Johns. “The Liberals have continued to make promises then they never deliver on them—and it's Canadians who are paying the price. While the Liberals stall on funding commitments, families are losing their loved ones— something needs to change."

IN THE NEWS - iPolitics - 'People are dying': National standards delayed as talks continue over $4.5-billion mental health transfer

Gord Johns, Doherty's NDP counterpart, wrote to Minister Chrystia Freeland last week to ask that the upcoming budget prioritize the transfer. He said it would be "unconscionable" and "completely absurd" should the development of standards get in the way of a transfer at this point.

"There is a clear consensus from the mental health community (that) standards should not delay the Canada Mental Health Transfer," he said. "This is not how you respond to a crisis. This is not how you respond to ER rooms overflowing and a health care system near collapse."

Johns said he fears the current situation around service access will get worse with a recession underway. The cost of living is rising, and that added stress is going to exacerbate people's mental health issues and substance abuse, he said.