Export Development Canada (EDC) has revealed one-third of the outsourced employees working on a federal COVID-19 business program are based in Brazil, contradicting an earlier statement from the government that nearly all of the outsourced employees were in Canada.
The Globe and Mail were the first to reveal last year that international consulting firm Accenture Inc was given a series of sole-sourced contracts to help EDC administer the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program. CEBA was the most widely used pandemic support program for businesses, with more than $49 billion of loans provided to almost 900,000 companies, the Globe and Mail reported.
The CEBA agreement with Accenture is one of the largest contracts ever given to a consulting firm, with the value reaching $208 million. The report noted it has been raised in Parliament as an example of opaque and expensive outsourcing. The Liberal government has promised to cut down on such contracts.
