Escaping the Consulting Trap with Chris Hurl and Leah Werner

Chris Hurl and Leah Werner document the complex and intensifying issue of consulting firms ripping off government programs and deskilling the public service in Canada and across the globe.

Image by Paul Fiedler on unspash.

Listen to the full conversation on the Perspectives Journal podcast, available to subscribe on SpotifyApple PodcastsYouTubeAmazon Music, and all other major podcast platforms.

When public services malfunction, such as the Phoenix Pay scandal or the failure of the pandemic travel ArriveCan app occur, it is easy to point the finger at the government and the political party in power. As Chris Hurl and Leah Werner describe in our latest Perspectives Journal podcast episode, there is some truth to this, but The Consulting Trap: How Professional Service Firms Hook Governments and Undermine Democracy, Hurl and Werner’s latest book, makes the case that the issue is much deeper than governmental failure and is also the result of a deepening intertwining of consulting firms within Canada’s government. 

Werner and Hurl offer a detailed account of how many Western governments, including Canada, became so reliant on consulting firms. The rise of neoliberalism and the influence of “Transnational Professional Service Firms,” not only led to further privatization of public services, but also led to small government mandates that worsened services and deskilled the public sector. 

In the end, this systemic issue has come at a cost for ordinary Canadians. Hurl and Werner break down some of the major issues facing countries trapped in what they call “the consulting trap,” including the huge and disproportionate costs to taxpayers. Despite the bleak landscape of TPSFs embedded administrations across Canada’s democratic institutions, the authors also highlight forms of resistance that have spawned in response to the rise of TPSFs and clear areas for reform. 

Listen Chris Hurl and Leah Werner’s interview to learn more about the origins, the problems, and the solutions to “the consulting trap” at the highest level of democratic governments on the Perspectives Journal Podcast

Notes:

Sign up for Perspectives

Perspectives is a Canadian journal of political economy and strategy by the Broadbent Institute. Sign up today to receive the latest analysis for building a just and equitable society.

Note: you will receive occasional messages from the Broadbent Institute
Opt in to all news from the Broadbent Institute
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.