Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has said that the person in question is a different Randy, but he has so far not identified who that is
Stephen Anderson, who co-founded Global Health Imports with Boissonnault at the start of the pandemic in 2020, and Kirsten Poon, a lobbyist with business ties to the minister, will be appearing before the House of Commons ethics committee for an hour. At issue is whether Boissonnault remained an active participant in the medical supply business he co-owned after he was appointed to cabinet, which would have violated ethics rules.
Poon is scheduled to appear at the committee virtually, but Anderson is expected to testify in person.
Committees usually do not meet during the summer, but Conservatives and the NDP said that Boissonnault’s prior appearance at committee on his business dealings have left them with more questions than answers.
“We’ve been looking to find out information that, frankly… Boissonnault has refused to provide, and he has demonstrated himself to be not forthcoming on matters that are certainly in the public interest,” said Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett.
The NDP’s Matthew Green said in a statement there is “clearly more for the committee to study in the minister’s business dealings” and that MPs “have a responsibility to do the work and ensure accountability for Canadians.”
Boissonnault came into politics claiming to be a successful entrepreneur and a journalist and political commentator.
The exchange was dated Sept. 8, 2022, which is almost a year after Boissonnault was first sworn in cabinet as associate minister of finance and of tourism. Last summer, he became minister of employment, workforce development and official languages.
The Conflict of Interest Act prohibits public office holders from engaging in certain outside activities, including managing or operating a business or commercial activity. Any business holdings are required to be divested or put into a blind trust. Boissonnault’s spokesperson told Global News he surrendered his shares in the company last month.
Boissonnault has denied that he is the “Randy” mentioned in the text message, and Anderson has never unveiled the true identity of the individual he was corresponding with.
“It seems incredible that the two gentlemen who collectively (owned) 100 per cent of the company are unable to share with us the last name or give us any indication of who the other Randy is,” said Barrett in an interview.
Poon took over Boissonnault’s small consulting business, Xennex Venture Catalysts, after he was re-elected in 2021, and transferred the company’s sole registered client, the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority, to her own small business, Navis Group.
She went on to lobby six political departments in 2021 and 2022, including the Department of Finance where Boissonnault was associate minister, and helped win $110 million in federal grants for Edmonton International Airport.
Boissonnault has said that he “in no way facilitated such meetings” and that any revenue he has received from Navis Group was for work he did while he was a private citizen between 2019 and 2021 and was disclosed to the ethics commissioner.
To date, the ethics commissioner has said there are no grounds to investigate the minister further.
In a letter dated June 25, Konrad von Finckenstein said he was satisfied that Boissonnault had had no contact with Anderson regarding their medical supply company after reviewing call logs from his three devices and screenshots of messages exchanged that date.
Barrett said the committee has received some phone records from Boissonnault but has still not received Anderson’s phone records.
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