The News Rundown

Federal minister’s ties to lobbyist raise ethical concerns

This week the count goes up by one, an increase in one cabinet minister who is embroiled in ethical concerns.
A lobbyist with business ties to federal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault met with high-level political staff in six federal departments, including one where Boissonnault was also associate minister.
The meetings took place in 2021 and 2022 and helped raise $110m in federal grants for the Edmonton International Airport.
To put it simply after he won the election he wound down his consulting business which he ran out of his home. The business name was Xennex Venture Catalysts.
He handed control of the company and administrative duties to his friend and assistant Kirsten Poon.
On paper Poon transferred the client, Edmonton Regional Airports Authority, to her own small business, Navis Group.
After Boissonnault was sworn in, Poon resumed lobbying.
In Boissonnault’s conflict of interest disclosures he posted the legal name for Poon’s consultancy, 2050877 Alberta Ltd. But he did not include the trade name of Navis Group.
To discover the connection between the two one would have to do a corporate records and name search and pay $80.
This did not happen.
Poon lobbied the PMO and Deputy PM and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
The story gets interesting when we see Poon lobbied Finance Canada in March and June 2022 when Boissonnault was attached to the same department as associate minister.
One of the topics discussed was hydrogen fuel and within months Boissonnault and other officials made an announcement at Edmonton International Airport awarding local hydrogen fuel initiatives $9.74 million in federal funds.
The Conflict of Interest Act requires ministers to avoid using their offices “to further his or her private interests … or to improperly further another person’s private interests.”
The Open and Accountable Government Code expands on this, stating that “Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest and situations that have the potential to involve conflicts of interest.”
And the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, a set of rules arising from the Lobbying Act, warns federal lobbyists to never pitch to officials who “could reasonably be seen to have a sense of obligation towards you.”
Both Boissonnault and Poon say that the lobbying was independent of his cabinet duties and vice versa.
That might be the end of the story but if you look deeper and follow the money, Poon and Boissonnault still have business ties.
Poon is the only director of Boissonnault’s two businesses — Xennex and a numbered holding company that controls his shares in a PPE supply business. Boissonnault received payments from Xennex into 2023, and the payments from Navis Group continue today, according to his public disclosures.
It appears as though Boissonnault also evaded the five year lobbying prohibition period by owning a business that hired other consultants to do the lobbying.
Upon being defeated in 2019 Boissonault restarted Xennex and hired Poon who had been a consultant for the airport since 2018 and used the title “director of business development” or vice president, Asia.
Poon also volunteered on Boissonnault’s 2015 campaign and donated about $4,000.
This all culminated in Boissonnault advising and Poon lobbying so that the Edmonton International Airport received $25 million in pandemic recovery funds in July 2021, one month after he was nominated for his riding and two months before the federal contest.
After being re-elected and being made Tourism Minister he worked on Edmonton airport’s new private partnership plan involving hydrogen when the airport thanked Boissonnault for “helping to make these agreements a reality.”
At this time Poon was a consultant for the airport which is owned by the federal government and lobbying the federal government on its behalf. She helped bring it grants totalling $110m.
What we see here is an elaborate web of companies, people, and agencies that transferred money around and utilized both Boissonnault and Poon.
To sum it up the total involved entities were Finance Canada, Transport Canada, Xennex Venture Catalysts, Navis Group, the Edmonton Centre Federal Liberal association, and the Edmonton International Airport.
This is the hallmark of the Liberal Party of Canada and how it seeks to embed itself in the corporations and agencies of Canada. Don’t be surprised if there are more ministers involved in elaborate webs like this. It also shows this is how large companies see the way forward to influence government policy.
This is something that Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives hope to change if they are elected.
In an opinion piece for the National Post after this story broke Poilievre said that the Trudeau Liberals have made one hostile business decision after another citing capital gains taxes, payroll, energy taxes, the killing of the Teck Frontier Mine, Energy East, and so many other opportunities.
He says that his answer when business asks: ‘What are you going to do about this?’ is actually “No, What are you going to do about it?”
Poilievre feels that government policy needs to change and be driven by the people.
He wants corporate Canada to convince people that changes should be made and then the government will do that citing when the Mulroney government asked businesses to sell free trade.
Poilievre says his government will say: Want to stop the latest tax hike? Or get bureaucracy out of the way to build homes, mines, factories, pipelines and more? Then cancel your lunch meeting at the Rideau Club. Fire your lobbyist. And go to the people.
This is the difference between Liberal and Conservative. One sees Boissonnault’s activities as probably normal and the other is pledging to do government differently.
Will they? Time will tell and Canadians will be the ultimate judge of success.
Supplementals:

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/pierre-poilievre-corporate-lobbyists-keep-sucking-up-to-high-tax-anti-resource-liberals

It's fair to say that BC's drug decriminalization experiment, aided and abetted by the federal government, has not gone exactly as Premier David Eby and the BC NDP had planned it would. For one, overdose deaths have not gone down, crime has gone up, and public spaces like school grounds, hospitals, parks and bus stops are getting overrun with drug users.
With an election looming in October, Eby's NDP government has been bombarded with a string of headlines about concerns with decriminalization — a pilot program introduced in January 2023 allowed adult drug users in B.C. to carry up to 2.5 grams of drugs for personal use without facing criminal charges. The program was possible through an exemption granted by Health Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which allowed for open drug use in some public spaces.
In a statement, Premier David Eby insisted that his government is "caring and compassionate for those struggling with addiction," but that patience for disorder only goes so far.
"Keeping people safe is our highest priority. We're taking action to make sure police have the tools they need to ensure safe and comfortable communities for everyone as we expand treatment options so people can stay alive and get better," he said.
The action they're taking? The NDP announced plans on Friday to recriminalize the use of drugs in public places Friday. In a release, the province says it is "working with Health Canada to urgently change the decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public and has requested an amendment to its … exemption to exclude all public places."
Part of the reason the change is happening is because last week, Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson testified at a House of Commons health committee hearing about the struggles police are having responding to public complaints involving disturbances related to public drug consumption.
Wilson said at the announcement that decriminalization has to be part of a broader strategy to address the province's drug crisis: "We've heard loud and clear from the front-line police officers who continue to see the unintended ramifications that unchecked public drug use has on the safety and well-being of neighbourhoods. And the feedback has been unequivocal — public consumption is a significant issue that needs to be addressed and major changes are required."
The province's statement reads: "When police are called to a scene where illegal and dangerous drug use is taking place, they will have the ability to compel the person to leave the area, seize the drugs when necessary or arrest the person, if required. This change would not recriminalize drug possession in a private residence or place where someone is legally sheltering or at overdose prevention sites and drug checking locations."
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province is also introducing specific measures aimed at curbing illicit drug use in health care facilities — including the prohibition of street drug possession or use.
Dix said: "We are taking immediate action to make hospitals safer and ensuring policies are consistent and strictly enforced through additional security, public communication and staff supports. The action plan launching today will improve how patients with addictions are supported while they need hospital care, while preventing others from being exposed to the secondhand effects of illicit drug use."
More than 14,000 people have died since the emergency was declared in 2016, largely due to the opioid fentanyl. By reducing stigma associated with drug use, officials say they hope to provide better access to lifesaving care along with a less deadly safe supply. But it has come with criticism about a lack of guardrails.
Friday's announcement is the government's latest attempt at curbing public drug use. Last October, it tabled new legislation in an attempt to ban illegal drug use in many public places.
The bill would have banned the use of illicit drugs within six metres of all building entrances and bus stops; within 15 metres of playgrounds, spray and wading pools, and skate parks; and in parks, beaches and sports fields.
But in December, B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ordered the law paused until March 31, ruling it would likely result in more deaths, displacement and criminalization of people who use drugs. The provincial government appealed the ruling, but it was upheld by the B.C. Court of Appeal.
So instead, this time Eby is going through Health Canada instead of a court system that is somehow even further left wing than even the BC NDP are.
Opposition B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon and his critic for mental health and addiction Elenore Sturko issued a joint statement calling the government's move a "desperate attempt to salvage a failing policy."
"Instead of upholding their commitments to scrap the decriminalization pilot when it clearly wasn't meeting its goals, David Eby and the NDP have stubbornly persisted with this dangerous policy. From its inception, the decriminalization experiment has failed to connect drug users with any necessary treatment or recovery services."
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said in an interview that "decriminalization has been an utter failure in this province" and "should have never have happened."
In her first public remarks since B.C. made its request, federal addictions and mental health minister Ya’ara Saks suggested that It is too early to draw conclusions about drug decriminalization, and noted that the province is only a year into its three-year pilot project, which began in January 2023.
Saks said she met with her provincial counterpart on Friday and the province’s amendment request is under review.
Saks said: “The overdose crisis, as I’ve said before and I say again, is a health crisis issue. It is not a criminal one.”
Toronto has also requested an exemption from Health Canada. Toronto Public Health said in a statement that it is monitoring B.C’s experience. It added that in its proposed model, public drug use would remain illegal.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford repeated his call Monday for Toronto to drop that application. Ford said he’s spoken to Eby about how things have gone in B.C., and said “it’s turned into a nightmare.”
Saks said Toronto’s request is also under review, and each request for decriminalization will be treated individually.
“We work with jurisdictions on a case-by-case basis, making sure we have a full suite of tools available to help vulnerable populations. That includes prevention, that includes harm reduction, that includes treatment and it includes a full set of health considerations. It’s not an apples-to-apples situation and we continue to partner and work with jurisdictions.”
At the end of the day, the BC NDP have completely failed on this issue. They have been in power for 7 years now, almost all of the time since the health emergency started in 2016, and yet during that time, the issues have only gotten worse. Crime has increased, drug users have increased, and deaths have increased. The fact that Eby is making an about face on his signature pilot decriminalization experiment is proof that it is not working.
Supplementals:

Alberta government announces master plan to expand rail passenger service

This week Alberta announced a 15 year passenger rail plan that falls into a variety of categories.
A commuter rail system connecting Calgary’s International Airport to the city’s downtown.
A commuter rail system connecting Edmonton’s International Airport to the city’s downtown.
Regional rail lines from Calgary and Edmonton to Banff and Jasper respectively.
A regional line b between Calgary and Edmonton with a hub in Red Deer that would be high speed.
A hub connecting the provincial rail system to LRT in the big cities.
And a rail line connecting Grand Prairie and Fort McMurray.
High speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton has been something that has been floated once or twice since the early 2000s when it was thought that it could be a project for the Klein government.
There have also been recent studies done saying how it could be set up and what the service would look like with some suggestion eye-watering speeds of up to 400km/hr for billions of dollars. The reality is that we should start slower and cheaper.
The plan will also provide some much needed foresight into provincial planning in that it intends to look forward decades and identify actions that can be taken now and in the future to build what would be an optimal passenger rail system.
The system would be built under a Crown corporation similar to Metrolinx in Ontario that would develop the infrastructure, oversee daily operations, and plan for future expansion.
We also need to avoid the pitfalls of Via Rail because as anyone who knows Via Rail is disappointing compared to offerings abroad.
If everything were to go to plan, construction would start in 2027.
I had mentioned that a high speed rail line between Calgary and Edmonton was first mentioned when Ralph Klein was in power but the first study done was in 2014 under the Redford Progressive Conservatives.
At the time MLA Donna Kenneday-Glans was involved in the process and said that this plan is different because in the last study done all the ideas were “piece meal” from stakeholders and municipalities.
Kenneday-Glans herself feels that the corridor between Edmonton and Calgary should be the priority given how large of a corridor highway 2 is.
Liricon, a private company that first pitched a passenger rail system between Calgary and Banff to the province in 2022, said she applauds the province’s interest in a rail line in the area but said it needs to quickly advance the company’s proposal in parallel with masterplan studies.
The reason they are concerned about this is that they feel they could secure about $1b in federal funding if the decision is made before the next election.
With this, the way forward seems to be an acknowledgement of the master plan and then finding the companies ready to get shovels in the ground for their portion of the master plan.
It would seem the province has Liricon ready for the Calgary-Banff connection but interested parties need to be found for Calgary-Edmonton and Edmonton-Jasper and the commuter services around both cities for a cost that doesn’t break the bank.
The thing that we must be wary of with this plan is that it is incredibly contingent on the province's population increasing further.
And with that it’s also in line with Smith’s plan where she’s said that she wants to see Alberta have nearly as many people as Quebec by the year 2050.
This was not a vision that Albertans were sold on nor did they vote for it.
Passenger rail around our urban centres needs a density level we are approaching and to thoroughly invest requires a commitment to further growth. Again, something we haven’t been sold on yet.
But the biggest potential landmine in this situation is the cost.
This plan is being proposed as a crown corporation which inherently means there will be some government investment.
Before anything is committed to and track is laid down we need to ask how much Albertans will be on the hook for if this plan does go ahead.
Danielle Smith herself has said, “A large and efficient commuter rail network stretching across the province has incredible potential. It represents a forward-looking vision and is a mobility solution for our rapidly growing province.”
Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s Minister of Transport and Economic Corridors says that the plan is ambitious, historic, and yes the government is serious.
Time will tell if this moves beyond the planning phase but as we say on this podcast there are now more unanswered questions than answers.
Supplementals:

Firing Line

McGill protesters set up first anti-Israel encampment in Canada

Over the course of the week, Canada has seen a large number of anti-Israel encampments spring up at Canadian universities, starting with McGill in Montreal last Saturday. This is following similar encampments being set up in universities in the US, such as Columbia and UCLA, where police have arrested thousands of protesters and violence has broken out with counter-protestors
Unfortunately, the protest camps have spread to other universities across the country, mostly in BC and Ontario. On Monday, a camp was set up at UBC in Vancouver, on Tuesday at the University of Ottawa, and on Wednesday at Western University in Ontario, as well as VIU and UVIC on Vancouver Island. And on Thursday, protesters set up at the University of Toronto.
While the issue is so far only in Canada's largest three provinces, it is likely it will spread elsewhere soon unless something changes.
The first camp at McGill has shown some startling behaviour and very alarming sentiments. Over a hundred students set up tents and formed a human circle near the center of campus with banners proclaiming, “Intifada until victory,” and demanding the administration cut ties to Israel.
The demonstrations are co-led by the Montreal chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, the same group which praised the October 7 massacres committed by Hamas as “active decolonization of Palestinian land.” Another organizer, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), called for the release of convicted terrorist Walid Daqqah and celebrated the Oct. 7 attacks as “resistance…with one goal: liberation.”
The encampments came despite the university’s statement that “encampments are not permitted on our campus.”
The demonstrations drew the condemnation of neighbouring Mount Royal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather. The Liberal MP demanded administrators, local law enforcement, and city leaders remove the encampment ahead of final exams to ensure student safety.
He said: “I’ve watched in horror what is happening at Columbia University, where it seemed that university administrations were incapable of acting when their codes of conduct were being violated and where other students were denied the right to feel safe on campuses. Having peaceful demonstrations is a protected Charter right in Canada, but setting up encampments on college campuses is a violation of pretty much every code of conduct, including that of McGill University.”
Asked to comment on the encampments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office pointed to a statement he made on Tuesday, saying "Universities are places of learning, they’re places for freedom of expression ... but that only works if people feel safe on campus. Right now ... Jewish students do not feel safe. That’s not right."
In just two days, pro-Palestinian activists have transformed a sports field in the heart of the University of B.C. campus into a bustling protest camp with tables packed with food, a sea of tents, and even portable toilets.
There’s a mini library where people can borrow books to read while in the camp, an art station, a “medic zone” with first aid supplies, and tables of donations that include sleeping bags and a wide range of groceries, including options for people with allergies and eating restrictions. In short, this isn’t a protest that feels like it will end any time soon.
These protests are going to expand across Canada, and the issue is not going to go away anytime soon. The anti-Israel sentiment shown and the anti-semitism seems entrenched in Canadian society at this point. The Canadian immigration goal of multiculturalism seems completely incompatible with the views of what's happening now, as people are more and more fully entrenched in their own cultural ghettoes.
Supplementals:

Quote of the Week

“I’ve watched in horror what is happening at Columbia University, where it seemed that university administrations were incapable of acting when their codes of conduct were being violated and where other students were denied the right to feel safe on campuses. Having peaceful demonstrations is a protected Charter right in Canada, but setting up encampments on college campuses is a violation of pretty much every code of conduct, including that of McGill University.” - Liberal MP Anthony Housefather on the anti-Israel encampment at McGill.

Word of the Week

Encampment - a place with temporary accommodations consisting of huts or tents

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Show Data

Episode Title: Campus Chaos

Teaser: Another Trudeau cabinet minister has a conflict of interest, the BC NDP wants to recriminalize drugs in public spaces, and the UCP looks to expand train service. Also, anti-Israel encampments spring up at Canadian universities.

Recorded Date: May 4, 2024

Release Date: May 5, 2024

Duration: 54:43

Edit Notes: None

Podcast Summary Notes

Duration: XX:XX