Latest news with #ConflictOfInterest
National Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Jobs subsidy for immigration minister's longstanding church raises 'perception' questions: ethics specialist
OTTAWA — When Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab dropped by a church kids camp this summer, she came to pose for photos to highlight the funding that came from the Canada Summer Jobs program. Article content It might not have seemed unusual: members of Parliament have a hand in helping organizations in their riding get the summer-job subsidies in the first place. MPs get lists of organizations in their ridings that apply for the subsidy, and recommend who should get it. Article content Article content Article content But Metlege Diab had a more personal relationship with this particular Lebanese parish church in Halifax than just representing it as an MP. She has been a parishioner there since the 1980s. Article content Article content The situation does not seem to violate either the Conflict of Interest Act or codes that public office holders must follow, but one government ethics specialist said it touches on issues around perceptions of conflict, as well as what questions the department responsible for administering the money asks of MPs who may have ties to the organizations whose requests they review. Article content 'Do I think that the minister, in this case, has broken the act or code? No,' said Ian Stedman, who previously worked for Ontario's integrity commissioner and now teaches as an associate professor at York University. Article content 'Do I think that the program may want to protect itself by having a higher bar or a higher standard than the act or code? Yes.' Article content The Canada Summer Jobs program offers a wage subsidy for employers to hire those aged 15 to 30 each summer. This year, the government announced it would spend $25 million more to create another 6,000 spots to combat the country's high youth unemployment rate. Article content Article content How it works is simple: An organization, including religious ones, applies for the subsidy. The department that administers it assesses the application to ensure it meets the criteria and then asks MPs for their feedback based on a recommended list, which, according to the program's website, is to ensure 'local priorities' are met. Article content Article content Their feedback, it says, is then used to inform the government's final decisions. Article content In Metlege Diab's case, a spokeswoman in her Halifax West constituency office said she provided her feedback back in March, two months before Prime Minister Mark Carney promoted her to cabinet. She has represented the riding federally since 2021. Article content 'The final funding decisions by (Employment and Social Development Canada) were made during the writ period,' the spokeswoman wrote, referring to the period during the spring federal election. Article content 'It was wonderful to visit Our Lady of Lebanon Parish and see how the Canada Summer Jobs program is helping our youth gain valuable work experience while supporting meaningful summer opportunities. Thank you for welcoming me — enjoy the rest of your summer!' Metlege Diab wrote in a recent Facebook post. Article content The government confirmed the church received around $50,000 to fund 10 jobs. Article content Last year, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's office released an advisory opinion directing MPs on when they should refrain from giving their opinion on whether a particular organization should receive funding. Article content It added that an entity is not precluded from applying for government money just because an elected official or appointee has a personal connection to it, like a membership. Article content The office advised that MPs should not provide opinions on applications from groups that employ or are owned by a family member, or where they have a 'private interest.' Article content Stedman says under the rules, 'private interest' is defined in terms of it being a financial interest, which is narrow. Article content Article content He says that narrowness is evident when it comes to the Canada Summer Jobs program, which he said is unique in that the government asks MPs to directly weigh in on a funding decision. 'This is really them saying outright, 'We want you to help influence how our money is spent.'' Article content While federal ethics rules concentrate on the issue of a public officer using their influence to benefit financially, the program itself is about the community. Article content 'It's an organization she cares about. It's a church that she cares about, and the better they do, the longer they survive to be there for her and her community. And she benefits from that in a kind of interpersonal way,' Stedman said. Article content 'It's just not the kind of benefit that's contemplated by the act, which can be unpalatable … for I think our modern take on what conflicts of interest could be.' Article content He said he believes the program, in asking MPs for their recommendations on funding, should also ask whether they have any personal connections to the organizations on the provided lists. Article content 'The public expects that their members of Parliament are going to do everything they can to avoid the perception of a conflict, because we want our government officials to care about public trust in their behaviour, and public trust is about perception as much as it is about reality.' Article content In a statement, Employment and Social Development Canada did not directly say whether it asks MPs about having any personal ties to the organizations whose applications they review, but members are reminded of the rules under the Conflict of Interest Act and Code of Conduct. Article content 'To ensure their recommendations are considered, they must attest to their compliance with the code by completing the required electronic confirmation. The code provides guidance to MPs regarding the disclosure of conflicts of interest and ensures transparency and accountability in their decision-making, including in the Canada Summer Jobs MP recommendation process,' wrote spokeswoman Liana Brault.
National Post
18-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree is unfit for office
One basic prerequisite for becoming public safety minister should be a lack of perceived conflicts of interest with terror organizations. Heck, it should be a requirement for candidacy as an MP, long before cabinet enters the conversation. Article content But no such requirement formally exists, which is why we have Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who remains in his office despite recusing himself from all files involving two Tamil terrorist groups, and who, Canadians learned Tuesday, wrote letters of support to assist a former Tamil Tiger member's immigration efforts. Article content Article content Anandasangaree, originally from Sri Lanka — home of the Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — joined Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet in May and became responsible for maintaining Canada's border integrity. Article content Article content The Tigers and the World Tamil Movement are both listed on Canada's roster of terror organizations, which the public safety minister must maintain. In June, Anandasangaree recused himself from decisions about both groups, explaining to Global News that this was done 'out of an abundance of caution' and 'to ensure that there is no perception of any conflict.' Article content But the fact that he feels the need for an ethics screen is fuel enough for the perception of a conflict — and because of that, it should disqualify him from the job. The recusal alone was a problem, but then came a follow-up report Tuesday: Global News, having sniffed through a number of Federal Court files, found that before joining cabinet, Anandasangaree had actually attempted to help a former Tamil Tiger member immigrate to Canada by writing to the Canada Border Services Agency in 2023 and 2016. Article content Article content That man, Senthuran Selvakumaran, 48, has tried for more than two decades to obtain the right to live in the West. Around the year 2000, the United Kingdom rejected his asylum application due to his inconsistent reasons for being a Tamil Tiger. On some occasions, he would say he joined because he wanted to help and make money, or because of a friend; on others, he said he was forced. Article content In 2007, he began his long attempt to be legally accepted into Canada, where his story continued to shift to an unacceptable degree. Canadian authorities didn't buy his claims, rendering him inadmissible to the country for terrorist group involvement — but he's been able to gum up that process by launching various court applications to halt their efforts. Article content Assisting Selvakumaran in that time was Anandasangaree, whose 2016 and 2023 letters of support were subsequently obtained by Global News. In the latest letter, Anandasangaree accused the border agency, which he now supervises, of being 'cruel and inhumane' by separating Selvakumaran from his wife and child in Canada.
National Post
15-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Michael Higgins: Mark Carney's ethical guardrails more of a smokecreen
If Prime Minister Mark Carney is truly serious about making sure he does not breach the Conflict of Interest Act then he is going to be exiting cabinet meetings on a regular basis. Article content Carney has pledged to literally leave the room if a discussion starts involving matters that he has placed behind a conflict-of-interest screen. Article content But the 103 companies behind that screen are extensive and have tentacles stretching far and wide in the business world. Article content Article content And it is not just the screen that is problematic, but also a blind trust in which Carney has shares in hundreds of different companies, a full 16 pages worth, everything from Adobe through to Zoom Communications. Article content Article content Such is the extent of Carney's business dealings that no matter how scrupulous and ethical he tries to behave, the man is bound to breach the Conflict of Interest Act in some way. Article content However, worryingly, Carney in his statement to the ethics commissioner's office, has inserted certain caveats that could act as loopholes. Article content Carney has agreed to put a conflict-of-interest screen between himself and investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Corporation, financial services company Stripe Inc. and another 100 companies owned or controlled by them. Article content Before running for the Liberals, Carney was chairman of Brookfield Asset Management, a company that loudly boosts about all the investments under its umbrella. Article content 'We are one of the world's largest infrastructure investors,' says the Brookfield website. 'We are a large-scale global investor focused on acquiring high-quality businesses that provide essential products and services,' it adds. Article content Article content With $1 trillion of assets under management, Brookfield has its fingers in a lot of pies. Article content Article content And when it comes to Brookfield, Carney has always been cagey and defensive. Article content When asked in March about Brookfield moving their headquarters to New York from Toronto, the prime minister essentially said it had nothing to do with him — before it was revealed he played a key part in the decision. Article content For the record, as National Post reported, Brookfield's annual report said Carney was entitled to 209,300 stock options at $35.13 each and 200,000 options at $40.07 each, for a market value of more than $6.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Article content It was also in March that the prime minister took umbrage at reporters questioning him about conflicts of interests. Article content 'I'm complying with all the rules,' said Carney. Article content The CBC's Rosemary Barton pressed the prime minister saying, 'For a guy who has spent most of his life in the private sector, there's no possible conflict of interest in your assets? That's very difficult to believe.' Article content 'Look inside yourself, Rosemary. You start from a prior of conflict and ill will,' replied Carney with a comment that tended more towards the condescending than the introspective. Article content But Barton hit the nail on the head. It will be difficult for Canadians to believe that Carney is not in some way in a conflict of interest because of his extensive business dealings. And it will be more difficult now we know just how vast and sprawling those dealings are. Article content 'This screen will prevent me from giving preferential treatment to any of the Companies while I exercise my official powers, duties, and functions as a reporting public office holder,' says Carney in a statement to the ethics commissioner. Article content But the very next paragraph raises two very serious concerns. Article content 'This screen is administered by my Chief of Staff and by the Clerk of the Privy Council,' says Carney. Marc-André Blanchard, the chief of staff, and Michael Sabia, the Clerk to the Privy Council, were both hired by Carney. Article content Having people so intimate with the prime minister running the screen is troublesome, but the paragraph goes on to insert a major loophole for Carney. Article content 'I may, however, participate in a discussion or decision on a matter that is of general application or that affects the Companies' interests as a member of a broad class of persons unless those interests are disproportionate to the other members of the class,' says Carney. Article content Who decides whether something is of a general application? Presumably Carney or one of his minions. Who decides whether the interests are disproportionate? Probably the prime minister and his inner circle. Article content 'The loophole is that as long as the decision applies generally or affects a broad group of people or entities, then PM Carney is allowed to participate in the decision even though it will affect a business he is invested in, and even though he can profit from the decision,' says a statement from Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, an organization devoted to government accountability. Article content This is no way to run a conflict-of-interest screen. Canadians are supposed to be able to trust public officials are not abusing their position. Article content As the ethics commissioner makes clear, 'Canadians must feel confident that those officials do not use their public office for private gain. The things they do in their jobs should be to benefit the public, not themselves or someone they know. Competing interests must not interfere with their ability to be fair and objective.' Article content In the event that someone in a meeting points out that Carney may be in a conflict of interest he has promised, 'to recuse myself from that matter by removing myself from the room where the discussion or decision is taking place.' Article content But will he really leave? Article content Conacher called the 'ethics' screen 'a loophole-filled, unethical smokescreen that allows him to participate in, and hide that he is participating in, almost every decision that affects the companies in which he is invested.' Article content Conacher was also scathing of the so-called blind trust.
