Trudeau won't recuse himself from hiring of new lobbying watchdog despite ongoing investigations

Torontosun.com
July 13, 2017
By Zane Schwartz

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not recuse himself from the hiring process for the next lobbying commissioner, even though the current one is investigating two fundraisers that wealthy lobbyists held for him.

 

On Thursday Postmedia confirmed that lobbying commissioner Karen Shepherd is still investigating an August 2015 fundraiser held for Trudeau by billionaire Barry Sherman, the chairman of pharmaceutical giant Apotex. She is also still investigating an August 2014 fundraiser held for Trudeau by a co-founder of Clearwater Seafoods. Both Apotex and Clearwater are registered to lobby the Prime Minister’s Office.

 

Trudeau’s press secretary Cameron Ahmad told Postmedia that Trudeau himself is not currently under investigation. “The Lobbying Commissioner has oversight over the activities of lobbyists and not public office holders, including Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister. Therefore, there is no need for the Prime Minister to recuse himself from the selection process,” said Ahmad.

 

In May, Trudeau removed himself from the process of choosing the next ethics commissioner, citing her ongoing investigation into a trip he took to the private island of the billionaire Aga Khan.

 

For Duff Conacher, co-founder of the watchdog group Democracy Watch - which originally submitted the complaints that sparked the lobbying commissioner’s investigations - that distinction doesn’t matter.

 

Conacher argues that whomever is the next commissioner, one of the most important things they’ll have to do is decide whether or not lobbyists raising money for the prime minister broke the rules and if so, whether to refer those cases to the RCMP for a more thorough investigation.

 

“He is not being investigated but a situation that directly involves him where the ruling will not be good for him if it’s found that he was at this event and these people are now lobbying him, it’s not going to be a good headline,” said Conacher.

 

Postmedia reported on June 6 that Trudeau hadn’t yet consulted the opposition on replacements for the lobbying commissioner and the ethics commissioner, as he is legally required to do. On June 9, Trudeau announced he was extending the terms of both commissioners for six months to provide more time to find their replacements.

 

Earlier this month, Democracy Watch went to court in a bid to block both renewals, arguing that the law only permits a single six-month extension for each commissioner and that this would be the third time each had been granted such an extension.

 

“By renewing their terms every six months, Trudeau has created a situation where government watchdogs currently investigating him are reliant on him for a renewal of their paycheques every six months. We think it’s clearly illegal under the act and also undermines their ability to independently investigate the prime minister,” said Conacher.

 

Shepherd did not directly answer a series of questions regarding how far along she was in her investigations into the lobbying activities of Apotex and Clearwater. In an emailed statement, she would only say: “I take all allegations seriously. The Lobbying Act requires me to conduct all investigations and reviews in private. I have no further comment.”