Questions of Conflict of Interest and Lobbying in Relation to Pandemic Spending
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QUESTIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND LOBBYING IN RELATION TO PANDEMIC SPENDING Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Chris Warkentin, Chair JUNE 2021 43rd PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. 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For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca QUESTIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND LOBBYING IN RELATION TO PANDEMIC SPENDING Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Chris Warkentin Chair JUNE 2021 43rd PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PRIVACY AND ETHICS CHAIR Chris Warkentin VICE-CHAIRS Brenda Shanahan Marie-Hélène Gaudreau MEMBERS Charlie Angus Michael Barrett Colin Carrie Han Dong Greg Fergus Jacques Gourde Patricia Lattanzio Francesco Sorbara OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Taylor Bachrach Luc Berthold Alexandre Boulerice Anju Dhillon Francis Drouin Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Rhéal Eloi Fortin Marilyn Gladu Pierre Paul-Hus Mike Kelloway Pat Kelly Annie Koutrakis iii Wayne Long Elizabeth May John Nater Hon. Pierre Poilievre Marcus Powlowski David Sweet CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Miriam Burke LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information, Education and Research Services Alexandra Savoie Ryan van den Berg Maxime-Olivier Thibodeau iv STANDING COMMITTEE ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PRIVACY AND ETHICS 43rd PARLIAMENT – 1st SESSION CHAIR Rachael Harder VICE-CHAIRS Brenda Shanahan Marie-Hélène Gaudreau MEMBERS Charlie Angus Michael Barrett Élisabeth Brière Han Dong Greg Fergus Jacques Gourde Damien C. Kurek Michael Levitt OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Alexandre Boulerice Colin Carrie Francis Drouin Eric Duncan Rhéal Éloi Fortin Mark Gerretsen Matthew Green Marie-France Lalonde Hon. Pierre Poilievre Salma Zahid v CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Miriam Burke LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information, Education and Research Services Alexandra Savoie Maxime-Olivier Thibodeau Ryan van den Berg vi THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PRIVACY AND ETHICS has the honour to present its SECOND REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(3)(h), the committee has studied Questions of Conflict of Interest and Lobbying in Relation to Pandemic Spending and has agreed to report the following: vii TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 1 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................... 3 QUESTIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND LOBBYING IN RELATION TO PANDEMIC SPENDING .......................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 9 WE Charity and the Canada Student Service Grant ......................................................... 11 Background .............................................................................................................................. 11 Award of the Contribution Agreement to WE Charity ............................................ 16 The Decision by Government that WE Charity was the Best or Only Available Option ............................................................................................................. 16 Federal Due Diligence in the Award Process ....................................................... 20 WE Charity’s Relationships with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Prime Minister’s Office and with Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau ......................... 29 Former Minister of Finance’s Relationship with WE Charity ............................... 33 Employment and Social Development Canada Ministers’ Relationships with WE Charity ..................................................................................................................... 34 Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth’s Relationship with WE Charity .............................................................................................................. 34 Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion ............................................................................................................................ 36 Public Servants’ Roles in Developing the Canada Student Service Grant ........ 37 Lobbying Concerns Related to the Canada Student Service Grant ..................... 39 WE Charity’s Capacity to Administer the Canada Student Service Grant in Both Official Languages .................................................................................................. 41 Palantir Technologies Inc. and the Involvement of David MacNaughton as a Former Reporting Public Office Holder ...................................................................... 42 Preventative Order Issued by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner ......................................................................................................................... 42 ix Public Office Holders Affected by the Order ............................................................... 43 The Nature of Palantir’s Work .......................................................................................... 45 Access to Senior Government Officials .......................................................................... 46 Baylis Medical Inc. and a Former Parliamentarian ......................................................... 47 Nature of the Contract ......................................................................................................... 47 Nature of the Involvement of a Former Member of Parliament ......................... 48 Oversight Mechanisms for Federal Spending And Procurement ............................... 50 Measures Already in Place ................................................................................................. 50 Pandemic Spending Oversight.......................................................................................... 52 Pandemic Spending in Action .................................................................................... 54 Improving Oversight Mechanisms .................................................................................. 55 Conflict of Interest Rules and Commissioner’s Role ................................................ 57 Commissioner of Conflict of Interest and Ethics ................................................ 57 Academics and Experts ................................................................................................ 59 Role of the Commissioner .................................................................................... 59 The Concept of Conflict of Interest and General Rules ............................. 59 Suggested Amendments to the Conflict of Interest Act and Other Legislation ..................................................................................................... 63 Conflict of Interest and the Prime Minister .................................................. 66 Culture of Ethics .....................................................................................................