Guilbeault implicated in Green Slush Fund scandal
Questions continue to mount surrounding the Liberals' 'Green Slush Fund' initiatives.
Conservatives passed a motion on Monday to have Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault appear before the public accounts committee. MPs want Guilbeault to appear to explain why a company he owns shares in, and worked as an adviser to for 10 years, received $200 million in subsidies from Sustainable Development and Technology Canada (SDTC).
The motion, put forward by Conservative MP Rick Perkins, read:
"Given Minister Steven Guilbeault previously served as strategic advisor for Cycle Capital for a decade prior to running for office, and was awarded shares as part of his compensation at Cycle Capital that he continues to hold, the committee therefore invites Minister Guilbeault to appear to speak to his past affiliation with the venture capital firm and whether he's been involved in any discussions related SDTC since joining cabinet."
Monday's committee heard that not much has changed at the new iteration of the so-called Green Slush Fund. Grants and subsidies are still being awarded without proper conflict of interest checks.
Just two months after assuring MPs that the RCMP hadn’t uncovered any criminal activity linked to the so-called "green slush fund," RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme is now admitting there are "ongoing investigations" into this controversial fund.
Auditor General Karen Hogan's report earlier this year revealed 186 conflicts of interest, 82% of transactions examined, in contracts tied to the fund, with money allegedly funnelled to companies in which board members had vested interests. Affected funding currently stands at $390 million.
Hogan’s report uncovered “significant lapses” in the governance and management of the $1-billion fund. She highlighted 90 instances where SDTC blatantly disregarded its own conflict-of-interest policies.
Her findings also revealed that one in six projects funded by SDTC—amounting to $59 million—were completely ineligible for funding. Some of these projects didn't even contribute to the development of new green technologies.
SDTC's funding stream was moved to the purview of the National Research Council in June.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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