EXCLUSIVE POLITICAL COVERAGE: NEWS, FEATURES, AND ANALYSIS INSIDE DISSECTING THE NEW OWN THE POWERS DUFFY TRIAL STAFFERS CLEAN-TECH ON POT Whittington P.P. 11 GALORE POLICY Hébert P. 10 PP. 20-21 PODIUM P. 15 P. 11 TWENTY-SEVENTH YEAR, NO. 1334 CANADA’S POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT NEWSWEEKLY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016 $5.00 NEWS STAFFERS NEWS HILL LIFE & PEOPLE NEWS DUFFY TRIAL The people The youngest Conservative AG denies behind foreign Harper lawyer policy: A look MP with the most to say suggestion he inside the foreign will audit Duffy minister’s offi ce expenses with BY CHELSEA NASH trial over Political staffers, no matter their ambi- BY T IM NAUMETZ tion, don’t always get a chance to shape events outside the walls of Parliament. Auditor General Michael Ferguson does In the case of those hand-picked to work not intend to conduct an audit on Senator for Global Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion Mike Duffy’s travel, housing and contract ex- (Saint-Laurent, Que.) that’s exactly what penses following his acquittal on 31 charges they’ve been hired to do. A new government of fraud, breach of trust and bribery last invariably wants to project a new image of week—unless the Senate requests one, Mr. Canada to the world. Not just anyone can— Ferguson’s offi ce said Tuesday. or should—be trusted to paint that picture. A spokesperson for Mr. Ferguson was Colin Robertson, a former Canadian responding to an unexpected public state- diplomat, personally knows a few of the ment, from a lawyer representing former people working in Mr. Dion’s offi ce, includ- prime minister Stephen Harper, predicting ing Christopher Berzins, director of policy, and Jocelyn Coulon, senior policy adviser. Mr. Robertson said he’s impressed with Continued on page 7 how the new Liberal government has been hiring “fi rst-rate people.” NEWS FOREIGN AID Continued on page 16 Only a few months on the job, rookie MP Garnett Genuis has met the Dalai Lama and is a regular at the Foreign Affairs Committee, though he’s not a member. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia Aid group NEWS DIPLOMACY BY CHELSEA NASH Alta., has spoken more than twice as many famously dumped words as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Armenia pushes Garnett Genuis has been in offi ce for just and 6,367 words more than the next most over six months, and he’s already spoken frequent speaker in his caucus, MP Erin by Tories seeking 44,109 words in the House of Commons. O’Toole (Durham, Ont.). Liberals to fulfi l That’s second only to Liberal MP Kevin Former classmate Shawn Menard help from Liberals Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Man.), who characterizes 29-year-old Mr. Genuis, the election ‘promise,’ sits at 54,663 words, according to Maclean’s youngest MP in the Conservative caucus, BY MARIE-DANIELLE SMITH Magazine’s “Figures of Speech” data collector. as a “fi erce debater.” For perspective, Mr. Genuis, the rookie KAIROS Canada, an international devel- open embassy MP for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, Continued on page 18 opment group famously dumped by a Con- servative federal minister, is looking to build BY SHRUTI SHEKAR bridges with the new Liberal government. The government ended its relationship Armenia’s ambassador to Canada is NEWS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY with KAIROS Canada in 2009 after 34 pressing the Liberal government to make years of federal funding. About $7 million good on what he says was an election in funding had been approved by top bu- promise to the politically infl uential Arme- Let courts, mediators decide on reaucrats with the Canadian International nian-Canadian community to establish a Development Agency, but International Co- Canadian Embassy in Armenia. operation Minister Bev Oda denied it. “This was a political promise during the mining disputes abroad: Lobby group A handwritten “not” was added to the election campaign,” said Armen Yeganian approval document with her signature. As in an interview with The Hill Times. “But BY PETER MAZEREEUW The court system is one of sev- details emerged in 2010 and 2011, the deci- I’m sure that as we’ve seen already with eral tools already in place to deal with sion became the topic of major controversy other political promises, such as refugees, While human rights groups are pushing confl ict or allegations of wrongdoing on the Hill. Ms. Oda’s answers to ques- this current government is very keen to for stronger government oversight of min- connected to foreign projects owned by tions about the decision were confusing, stick to their promises. So I hope that this ing companies’ conduct abroad, executives Canadian mining companies, said Min- and opposition MPs in a raucous minority one also will be implemented very soon.” from a national mining lobby group say ing Association of Canada president and Parliament accused her of lying. Canadian courts and existing mediation Continued on page 6 bodies should be allowed to do their work. Continued on page 5 Continued on page 3 2 THE HILL TIMES, WEDNESDAY APRIL 27, 2016 FEATURE BUZZ Democratic Minister Monsef speaks at Ottawa Peace Talks ON HEARD THE HILL BY PETER MAZEREEUW Trudeau ranks below Huffi ngton Post Canada’s Althia Raj, event MC, left, with Global Centre for Pluralism Secretary-General John McNee, second from right, and Scott Weber Immigration Minister John McCallum corporate bosses on and Sarah Noble of Interpeace. The two groups organized the event, which at the event at the Delegation of the explored the theme of building peace through diversity. Ismaili Imamat. trust survey Ottawa Peace Talks photographs by Andrea Cardin o you trust your boss more than Justin Senate staffer turns author DTrudeau? More Canadians rate the leader of their company as trustworthy than they do the Author prime minister, according to the results of Aram an online survey released by Environics Adjemian Communications Tuesday. works as About 46 per cent of the 1,001 Canadians a research who took part in the survey indicated that they assistant trusted their current prime minister to do “what to Senator is right for Canada,” compared to 52 per cent Sudanese child-soldier-turned-musician Emmanuel Jal, Serge Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, a who trusted their CEO or most senior boss. and Hamoon Ekhtiari, Telus’s director of strategy, at the Joyal. The The survey was conducted between Feb. post-event reception. presenter at the April 19 event. Hill Times 29 to March 7 of this year, and looked at how photograph much trust Canadians had for various public by Peter and private leaders and institutions. House Speaker Regan hosts taste of Pacific Alliance Mazereeuw The higher score for corporate leaders likely has a lot to do with bosses rubbing shoulders with their employees, says Envi- ronics chief Bruce MacLellan. “Familiarity is a great way to build trust,” he said. Perhaps surprisingly, Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) was rated trustworthy by A collection of about 15 Parliamentar- more respondents from Western Canada ians, staffers, and Armenian community Causa Limeña Makis, Peruvian smoked- (48 per cent)—which, outside of urban advocates gathered in a small room April centres such as Vancouver, is dominated in salmon sushi. 20 outside of the Parliamentary Restaurant Parliament by the Conservative Party and for the launch of a book by Senate staffer NDP—than from Quebec (42 per cent.) Re- Sabrina Ruiz Santa Maria, left, her grandmother, right, Peruvian Aram Adjemian. spondents from Ontario (48 per cent) and Ambassador Marcela López Bravo, and Conservative MP Ed Fast at the The Hill Times photographs Mr. Adjemian’s book, The Call From Atlantic Canada (49 per cent) gave roughly April 12 celebration of Pacifi c Alliance food in the Speaker’s Centre Armenia: Canada’s Response to the Ar- by Sam Garcia the same level of support to Mr. Trudeau as Block salon. menian Genocide, uses letters, newspaper those from Western Canada. articles, cartoons, and photos to illustrate “I don’t think we can categorize the the reaction in Canada to the deaths of West perhaps the way we have for the last hundreds of thousands, or possibly mil- decade, as the bedrock of Conservatism,” lions, of Armenians between 1915 and said Mr. MacLellan. 1917 at the hands of Ottoman troops. Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi proved The book is an updated and illustrated one of the most popular political leaders in edition of a master’s thesis completed by the survey; 66 per cent of Calgarian respon- Mr. Adjemian in 2007, the year before he dents indicated that they trusted their mayor. came to work on the Hill. Mr. Adjemian Almost three in 10 (28 per cent) Canadi- has worked for most of that time as a staff- ans indicated they didn’t trust any of the er for Senator Serge Joyal. He works as a leaders listed. Trust for provincial premiers research assistant to the Senate Liberal. (34 per cent) was lower than for several Mr. Adjemian was commissioned to other categories of leaders. Chefs Juan Pablo Loaiza (Colombia), Raúl Guerrero and Jonathan Luna Mexican Ambassador Agustín García-López complete the book by a committee orga- The research indicates Canadians trust (Mexico), Lizardo Becerra (Peru), Benjamín Ahumada (Chile), and Loaeza laughs with House Speaker and host nized by the Armenian National Commit- leaders who are local, communicative, Tomas Rueda (Colombia). Geoff Regan. tee of Canada to commemorate the 100th accessible, and value investment in their anniversary of the deaths last year. The communities. Nearly one-third of Canadi- ANCC is providing copies of the book to ans surveyed (32 per cent) suggested us- those who are interested.