The parliamentary ethics commissioner has reversed course and said he will examine the business dealings of federal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault.
The surprise decision landed Tuesday during a parliamentary ethics committee hearing when Commissioner Konrad W. von Finckenstein committed to examining Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault’s alleged business ties to a lobbying firm and a medical supply business, which Global News investigations uncovered a month ago.
“Clearly we will look into this,” von Finckenstein said. “If our looking into it shows there is substance to it, that there may be contravention of the (Conflict of Interest Act), then of course, we have the capacity to self-initiate an inquiry.”
In earlier remarks, von Finckenstein told the committee that Boissonnault complied with the federal Conflict of Interest Act.
Repeating information the commissioner’s office had sent to Boissonnault on May 23, von Finckenstein said his office would not investigate.
But as he took questions from committee members Tuesday about new revelations from Global News, Finckenstein changed his mind.
“It’s complete news to me, never knew anything about it. It obviously raises some serious implications if the story is true,” von Finckenstein said.
“The ruling that we made was based on the information (Boissonnault) disclosed to us,” he continued, adding that the Edmonton Centre MP only disclosed his 50 per cent stake in GHI held by his numbered company.
Earlier the same day, Global News reported that Stephen Anderson, the COO of Global Health Imports Corporation, allegedly forwarded a text message to a buyer on Sept. 8, 2022, purportedly from someone named “Randy.”
“Anderson, it’s 13:14 MST and 15:14 EST it literally takes 10 seconds to complete a (wire) transfer,” the person referred to only as “Randy” allegedly wrote to Anderson. “I am telling you we are NOT ALLOCATING like this, please reach out and see what the reason is now, you assured me this morning this was done first thing…Be available in 15 for a partner call.”
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The buyer, Malvina Ghaoui, owner of a California-based personal protective equipment (PPE) business called The Ghaoui Group, LLC, and Anderson were discussing a deposit Ghaoui Group was to send to Global Health Imports (GHI), a medical supply company Boissonnault co-founded with Anderson in 2020 while he was out of office.
In a statement, a representative of Ghaoui Group wrote that Anderson had informed them that Boissonnault was a public official and partner at GHI prior to the two companies doing business.
“We have had no direct communication with Mr. Boissonnault at any point in our dealings with Stephen and the companies,” the representative wrote.
Federal laws prohibit cabinet ministers from operating or managing a business while in office.
For his part, Boissonnault told members of the ethics committee, “I am not that ‘Randy.’”
Boissonnault was the first to testify in the hearings, and in combative exchanges with committee members, explained that he had no dealings with GHI since his election in 2021 and had no knowledge of the business’s operations.
Pointing out that Anderson had told Global News there was another person connected with the business named “Randy,” Boissonnault stated that he did not know the employee’s surname.
Global News has been unable to verify any details related to a second employee named Randy.
Felix Papineau, Anderson’s right-hand man in Quebec, and Shawna Parker, Anderson’s sister and a GHI employee, both mentioned in the text exchange, did not respond to Global News’ questions.
Committee member Anthony Housefather pointed out that the name Randy is common in Canada, with 28,000 Randys born in 1956. “A lot of Randys,” he said.
Boissonnault was at a cabinet retreat in Vancouver on the date the text was sent, Housefather added. Since the text message refers to an event in eastern time, the Montreal MP said the minister’s location on that date calls into question whether Boissonnault was the “Randy” referred to in the texts.
Boissonnault’s spokeswoman, Alice Hansen, later told Global News that at the retreat, “All electronic devices (were) prohibited from entering the meeting room and ministers were in lock-up throughout the day,” so the person mentioned in the text message could not be Boissonnault.
The ethics commissioner’s about-face was a setback from the minister, who had repeatedly referred to the ethics commissioner’s letter.
Opposition committee members peppered Boissonnault with questions about why the ethics commissioner only posted the legal name of the lobbying business, 2050877 Alberta Ltd., to the public-facing registry of Boissonnault’s conflicts of interest, rather than its operating name, Navis Group.
They asked the minister about “outstanding” or delayed payments he had received from Navis Group during his time in office and why he had agreed to deferred payments.
Boissonnault explained that the work was done while he was a private citizen and referred the questions to the ethics commissioner.
He added that he had not arranged any meetings with federal officials for Navis Group lobbyist Kirsten Poon.
“I am not a lobbyist,” he emphasized. “I have never been a lobbyist. And I have never had any interest in being a lobbyist.”
In response, Conservative and NDP MPs tabled several requests that Boissonnault supply documents supporting his statements about Navis Group and GHI, along with records of his texts from his cellphone company.
NDP MP Matthew Green argued that Boissonnault was in breach of the standing orders and powers of the committee.
“Your testimony today has not helped you out,” he said to Boissonnault.
Conservative MP Damien Dudek also submitted a motion to call Anderson, Poon and Ghaoui Group to testify to the committee.