Liberal minister’s former company won federal contract, may be a conflict of interest

Elections Canada awarded Global Health Imports a $28,298 contract in January to supply them with disposable gloves. Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault surrendered his 50% stake in the company two months ago.

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  • August 21, 2024
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Liberal minister’s former company won federal contract, may be a conflict of interest
The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
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A medical supply company, co-owned by Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, received a federal contract while he was in office, records show. At the time, he had a 50% stake in Global Health Imports (GHI).

Elections Canada, a non-partisan government agency, awarded GHI a $28,298.03 contract on January 5 to supply them with disposable gloves. It remains active and was procured through a competitive bidding process.

To date, no payments have been made to the supplier, the agency confirmed.

"We need that independent investigation," said Tory ethics critic Michael Barrett, who intends to forward the contract details to the parliamentary ethics commissioner. Ministers cannot hold shares in a private company that obtains a federal contract, according to Section 13(2) of the Conflict of Interest Act. 

"Randy Boissonnault should not be serving in the federal cabinet if he is found guilty of breaking Canada’s ethics laws," he claimed.

A third ethics investigation into Minister Boissonnault's ties to GHI was launched earlier this month due to new demands for records. 

Konrad von Finckenstein, the Commissioner of Ethics, disclosed August 8 he asked Boissonnault for emails and texts. His office previously relied on two days of communications exonerating the minister of any wrongdoing. 

New text messages indicate frequent contact between the minister and then-partner Stephen Anderson when Boissonnault was restricted from private business dealings under the Conflict of Interest Act.

"This new stuff has come up which I was unaware of," Commissioner von Finckenstein told the Commons public accounts committee. "I wrote to Mr. Boissonnault again and said, 'I am concerned about this.'"

GHI partner Stephen Anderson testified July 17 at the Commons ethics committee, where he admitted to fibbing the identity of "Randy" to reporters. He contends it was not Boissonnault.

At the time, MPs took issue with Anderson's "autocorrect" explanation. The committee subsequently passed a motion to demand testimony from Boissonnault in September.

"I am concerned because he admitted he lied," Commissioner von Finckenstein testified August 7. "There are also these texts that emerged that use 'Randy' nine times."

Minister Boissonnault’s director of communications Alice Hansen told Global News he would comply with the commissioner’s request for information.

In June, the minister surrendered his stakes in GHI without compensation, over the politicization of his shareholder status, his office said.

Minister Boissonnault earlier denied being the "Randy" mentioned in text messages deliberating a $17 million deal with Malvina Ghaoui, principal of The Ghaoui Group. He claimed no involvement in GHI after his September 2021 re-election.

However, Boissonnault was listed as a company director for 16 months after a return to politics. He claims it took federal and provincial registries that long to update.

But the narrative changed with the revelation of new exchanges revealed in the committee.

GHI, which bid on municipal and provincial government contracts in subsequent years, claimed a warehouse arson shuttered their operations. The Elections Canada contract, which commenced in January, is further evidence GHI continued to operate.

Conflict of interest exemptions exist if the commissioner finds the contract or interest is "unlikely to affect the exercise of the official powers, duties and functions" of the minister.

Melanie Rushworth, director of communications for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, told Global News she could not comment on the matter for confidentiality reasons.

Boissonnault’s office claimed he had no knowledge or involvement with the Elections Canada contract. Nor does he have any oversight into Elections Canada contracts.

"The awarding of a contract the minister had no involvement in, to a company he had no operational role in, by an agency he has no authority over, would in no way affect the exercise of his official powers, duties and functions as a minister of the Crown and the exemption under the Act would apply here," Hansen said.

The company sells personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves and gowns to government offices, senior care facilities and other buyers.

It is subject to a slew of lawsuits against GHI and Anderson, who face nearly $8 million in court-ordered debt. None named Boissonnault as a plaintiff.  

Boissonnault is expected to testify before the ethics committee the week of September 16.

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