SPENDING ON CONSULTANTS INCREASED 60% SINCE LIBERALS IN OFFICE

   OTTAWA — “We’re definitely going to reduce the cost of consultants.”
   The leader of the Conservative party hasn’t committed himself to much but that’s a pretty definitive promise — a Pierre Poilievre government would reduce the spending on third-party consultants that Ottawa’s own estimates suggest rose to $17.7 billion in 2022.
   Governments should, of course, be judged on their actions, not their intentions. In the 2015 Liberal election platform, Justin Trudeau promised to save billions by reducing the use of external consultants. In reality, spending on outsourcing has increased nearly 60 per cent from the $10.4 billion spent when the Liberals took office.