Canadian lawmaker criticizes outsourcing contract
OTTAWA, CANADA — The federal government of Canada has confirmed that one-third of outsourced employees working on the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program are based in Brazil, contradicting earlier claims that nearly all were located in Canada.
CEBA provided loans of up to CAD60,000 (US$44,927) to nearly 900,000 small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government tasked Export Development Canada (EDC) with administering CEBA but, lacking capacity, EDC outsourced much of the work to consulting firm Accenture under a $208 million sole-source contract.
Last summer, the government stated that 125 of 129 Accenture employees working on CEBA were in Canada. However, EDC recently revealed that while 105 workers operate CEBA’s “front-line delivery” in Canada and 3 more do so from the U.S., 46 employees in Brazil have configured the program’s loan-accounting software.
The organization also clarified that the Brazilian team cannot access CEBA applicants’ personal information.
Nevertheless, opposition leaders criticized the outsourcing of a program meant to aid Canadian enterprises. NDP MP Richard Cannings questioned why a non-Canadian firm received such an important contract when many of its workers are abroad.
The news also highlighted the significant wage disparity between Canadian and Brazilian employees. Though the South American workers compose one-third of Accenture’s CEBA personnel, their lower salaries likely account for a smaller fraction of the $208 million paid to Accenture so far.
The report illustrates the persisting transparency issues around the CEBA contract amidst Canada’s pledge to reduce outsourcing within the government. It further spotlights concerns that overseas outsourcing undermines domestic pandemic economic recovery efforts.
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