MPs grill former Boissonnault business associates

Good Wednesday morning,

In today’s Politics This Morning:

• Senator MacDonald reports from the Republican National Convention.
• Bad news for travelling dog owners.
• New Canadian envoys named.

MPs on the House Ethics Committee will meet today to interview two former business associates of Employment Minister RANDY BOISSONNAULT.

The committee has been looking into ties between Boissonnault, STEPHEN ANDERSON, and KIRSTEN POON following reports from Global News’ PATTI SONNTAG and KRISTA HESSEY in and after April of this year.

Poon lobbied federal officials after taking over Boissonnault’s lobbying company, and its major client, when Boissonnault was elected and appointed to the cabinet, according to those reports. 

Anderson co-owned a medical supplies company with Boissonnault until recently, and the company was accused of defrauding clients, according to reporting by Global. Just yesterday, Global reported that Anderson—but not Boissonnault—had also created a numbered company with a woman detained in a drug bust in the Dominican Republic. 

The Ethics Committee is chaired by Conservative MP JOHN BRASSARD. The party’s ethics critic, MICHAEL BARRETT, is also a member. He didn’t respond to a request for an interview from Politics This Morning yesterday.

Boissonnault testified before the committee on June 4, and so did Ethics Commissioner KONRAD VON FINCKENSTEIN. Boissonnault said that he hadn’t done anything wrong, and had followed the ethics rules for MPs and ministers. He said that he never helped any lobbyists to set up meetings with government officials. Von Finckenstein said Boissonnault had complied with the relevant ethics laws, and there was “no need” for his office to investigate the matter.

The committee members will have just one hour today to question both Poon and Anderson. Then they’ll speak briefly about the committee’s budget, and go in camera to have a private deliberation about an access to information request. The meeting starts at 11 a.m., and you can watch it here. 

Speaking of House Committee meetings, Politics This Morning steered you wrong, dear reader, last week. We told you that the Conservative and NDP members of the House Public Safety Committee had sent a letter to their chair, calling for the committee to be recalled to examine government statistics about the number of people charged with murder while out on bail.

That was a mistake. While the letter posted on social media by Conservative MP FRANK CAPUTO included the name of NDP MP ALISTAIR MACGREGOR, it did not include his signature. We apologize for the error.

Sen. MacDonald, embassy repping Canada at Republican convention

The United States’ Republican Party is holding a national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this week. Presidential hopeful DONALD TRUMP is firmly in the spotlight, and was received with cheers at the convention, which comes close on the heels of an attempt to assassinate the former president. 

Conservative Senator MICHAEL MACDONALD is one of the Canadians attending the convention. He’s there in his capacity as co-chair of the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group. 

Speaking with Politics This Morning yesterday, MacDonald described the mood at the convention as “pretty upbeat”, despite the attempt on Trump’s life. He said it was “well attended,” and also noted that there were protests outside. 

MacDonald said he made the trip to maintain relationships with U.S. lawmakers and political influencers. 

“They are our biggest trading partner, our most important partner, by far,” he said.

Trump, of course, has promised to overturn the status quo within and outside of the United States if he wins another term as president. Politics This Morning asked MacDonald if he was concerned about what a Trump victory would mean for Canada.

“I’m not really concerned about who wins the election, in terms of Canada’s interest,” he said, noting that Canada had survived one Trump presidency already. 

MacDonald said that representatives of the Canadian embassy in the United States were also at the convention. 

His message for the Americans with whom he’s meeting this week, he said, is that “Canada is still [the United States’] most important trading partner, Canada is still its closest ally, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.”

He described the bilateral relationship as “beneficial to both sides.”

“Most of our trade issues are very manageable,” he said.

MacDonald said he didn’t think his Conservative Party had any lessons to take from the Republican Party in particular. 

He also said that the assassination attempt had been a “wakeup call for the Americans.”

“I hope there’s going to be a positive outcome from the trauma of last weekend, where people can get back and concentrating on the issues, and get away from personalities,” he said.

“Deal with issues and policy—people have got to stop clawing the eyes out of each other.”

In the news

LAURA RYCKEWAERT checks in with MPs who are trying to win again in ridings where the boundary lines have been redrawn.

Global Affairs Canada has downgraded the role of its top legal adviser. NEIL MOSS has that story.  

Canadian businesses are doubling down on exports to China, political tensions notwithstanding. Moss reports. 

Former Wilson-Raybould policy director to lead New Zealand High Commission

Yesterday, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) announced four new diplomatic appointments, replacing three Canadian ambassadors and one high commissioner. 

PATRICIA ATKINSON is taking over from KIM URSU as Canada’s new ambassador to Panama, having previously served at the Canadian embassies in Thailand, Myanmar, Guatemala, and others. It is her first head-of-mission appointment. 

KAROLINA GUAY is the new ambassador to Chile, taking over from MICHAEL GORT. Guay was previously appointed as Canada’s chargé d’affaires in Guatemala and as ambassador to El Salvador. 

JEFFERY MARDER will take over for WENDY DRUKIER as Canada’s representative in Spain. Marder was previously Canada’s ambassador to neighbouring Portugal from 2014-2018, though most recently he worked at GAC headquarters as the executive director of the Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs Policy Division. 

Finally, KEITH SMITH is off to New Zealand as the newest Canadian High Commissioner, appointed in place of JOANNE LEMAY. Keith is a member of the Thessalon First Nation, has served in a variety of roles within Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, and was policy director for then-minister of justice and attorney general of Canada JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD from 2016 to 2018.

Dog days are over

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has new requirements for dogs entering the U.S. from Canada, which will likely fur-strate Canadians who like to bring their dogs with them on cross-border weekend trips. As of Aug. 1, the CDC is requiring dogs be microchipped, and have CDC dog import forms endorsed by an official government veterinarian. 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) would be the agency to endorse such forms, but “is currently unable to provide endorsement for export documents for dogs entering the U.S.,” per the CFIA website. The agency does not state why it is unable to provide such endorsements, but does say the process is “being discussed with the CDC,” and that the CFIA is working with the CDC “to develop a specific process” for dogs travelling from Canada to the U.S. (NEXUS for dogs?)

At 9 a.m. this morning, Health Minister MARK HOLLAND will paw-vide an update on the new regulations for pooches, which come into effect on Aug. 1. 

What’s the rest of the cabinet up to? 

Housing Minister SEAN FRASER will make an infrastructure announcement in Stellarton, N.S. at 10 a.m. local time. 

Environment Minister STEVEN GUILBEAULT is in Montreal, Que. to make an announcement “to support clean and affordable homes” at 10:30 a.m. 

Indigenous Services Minister PATTY HAJDU is in Thunder Bay, Ont., where she will make an announcement “as part of the plan to help save Canadians money on their energy bills” at 10:30 a.m. 

Diversity and Inclusion Minister KAMAL KHERA is in London, Ont. where she will make that same announcement at 12:30 p.m. 

Trade Minister MARY NG will finish up her participation in the G7 trade ministers summit in Italy today.

Ng has held bilateral meetings with counterparts from the U.K., Italy, and the World Trade Organization already. As of yesterday, she was also scheduled to sit down with the trade ministers of Japan, Vietnam, Germany, the EU, and New Zealand, according to her office.

One of Ng’s priorities for the summit is pushing for reforms of the World Trade Organization, according to her office. Canada has been advocating for change at the WTO for years, though the details released by Global Affairs on that front are somewhat vague. 

Speaking of the WTO, it recently released its latest evaluation of Canada as a trading nation. The report summary spoke of a need to clean up regulatory entanglements, a “deficit” in intellectual property revenue, and limited ability to transport oil and gas from one part of the country to another—as well as a lot of complimentary language. You can read it here.  

What else is happening today?

Canada’s premiers will wrap up their summit in Halifax today. The group is scheduled to hold a closing news conference at 1:30 p.m. AT. 

The Council issued a news release yesterday that may serve as a template of sorts for today’s presser. As it turns out, there is a lot they’d like the federal government to do differently, on areas ranging from housing to asylum seekers, environmental policy, disaster relief, and more. You can read the lengthy release yourself here.

NDP Leader JAGMEET SINGH is in Vancouver today. At 10:45 a.m. PT, he’ll speak at a convention for the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers.  

People

Canada is about to get a new ambassador to Israel.

LISA STADELBAUER announced on social media yesterday that she would be hanging up her heels, and retiring from the foreign service after 35 years. 

Stadelbauer has held the job in Tel Aviv since 2021. She previously served as Canada’s top diplomat in Kenya, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Uganda, Somalia, and Burundi. 

Whomever the government appoints as Canada’s next ambassador to Israel will have their work cut out for them. The Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, and subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza have sparked political turmoil within Israel and around the world, and strained the Canadian government’s relationship with its counterpart in Israel. 

Vuong plugs radio spot as Toronto floods

A deluge of rain on Tuesday drowned many areas in Toronto, including Lakeshore Boulevard and the Don Valley Parkway. Independent MP for Spadina-Fort York KEVIN VUONG plugged his guest host spot on AM radio station 640 Toronto as he retweeted images of severe flooding across the city.

“Guess I won’t be taking Lake Shore to the @am640 studio today…” the MP tweeted, reposting a video of the flood. 

“It’s wet and gross outside so stay in & listen to @am640. I’ll be back to guest host the John Oakley Show from 3-6pm,” he later tweeted, indicating he’d be talking about whether it was time for PMO chief of staff KATIE TELFORD to leave that post, and “six-figure LCBO salaries” amidst the province-wide strike of LCBO workers. 

A transit-related press announcement by Ontario Infrastructure Minister KINGA SURMA was canned after the media tent was seen collapsing around the group of provincial and federal ministers—including Women and Gender Equality Minister MARCI IEN—as reported by Global News reporter COLIN D’MELLO, who posted video of the awkward in-the-moment cancellation to X. 

Toronto Hydro revealed that the thunderstorms led to power outages, which affected more than 165,000 customers across the city.

Videos online also showed puddles of water inside Union Station as trains were also delayed and cancelled.

Jamie Hkayem this week’s book give-away winner: The Medicine Chest: A Physician’s Journey Towards Reconciliation 

JAMIE HKAYEM, a parliamentary relations officer at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is this week’s book give-away winner. Hkayem won a copy of The Medicine Chest: A Physician’s Journey Towards Reconciliation, by Dr. JAROL BOAN. 

Hkayem’s name was drawn after correctly answering that the seven grandfathers’ teachings from the Anishinaabe are: love, respect, honesty, bravery, humility, truth, and wisdom. 

Shout-outs to everyone else who answered correctly: ULA ADAMIK, CHRISTINE SCHUKNECHT, FRÉDÉRICK LAVOIE, RICHARD MULLIN COTÉ, RHONDA DEAN, AARTI KOHULAN, AUDREY FESTERYGA, NATHAN NASH, and RON COLUCCI. Keep an eye out for next week’s contest. 

We appreciate your feedback. Let us know what you think by emailing us at pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com or cnash@hilltimes.com.

The Hill Times