Reuters: Mergers News: Canada cabinet minister faces more ethical questions

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Canada cabinet minister faces more ethical questions Mar 27th 2012, 14:25 Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:25am EDT * Prime minister defends industry minister again * Minister Paradis stayed at lodge of Marcel Aubut * Aubut was lobbying for funds for Quebec arena * Harper says trip was private, no business connection * Minister's file includes Glencore bid for Viterra By Randall Palmer OTTAWA, March 27 (Reuters) - For the second time in a week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was spurred on Tuesday to defend his industry minister, Christian Paradis, over a question of ethics. CTV News reported that Paradis, who is also the cabinet minister responsible for Quebec affairs, had stayed in 2009 at the exclusive hunting lodge of businessman Marcel Aubut, who was lobbying the federal government at the time to help fund a C$400 million ($404 million) hockey arena in Quebec City. Harper's Conservatives came to power in 2006 pledging to implement strict ethical guidelines. The prime minister suggested on Tuesday he saw nothing wrong with what Paradis had done. "This was a private trip, and there is no link I'm aware of to any government business," Harper told a news conference in South Korea, where he was attending a summit on nuclear security. Paradis is in charge of deciding whether to allow increased foreign investment in big telecommunications companies and currently is weighing whether to let Swiss-based Glencore International Ltd buy Viterra Corp, Canada's biggest grain handler, for C$6.1 billion. Paradis's office did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, but CTV television quoted the office as confirming Paradis had spent two nights at the lodge, though he took his own gear and supplied his own food. As it happens, Quebec authorities announced on Sunday that construction of the Quebec City arena would begin, with provincial and municipal subsidies - but no federal funds. Last Thursday, Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson found that Paradis had violated the Conflict of Interest Act by telling bureaucrats to set up a meeting with a former Conservative legislator who wanted to do business with Ottawa. She said it was easy to understand a minister wanting to help someone he knows but she determined that this broke the rules. Paradis responded that he had never sought to influence public servants' decisions but accepted Dawson's ruling. Reacting to her report, Harper said it was clear to him that Paradis had not acted with ill intentions in arranging the meeting and no substantial harm of any kind had occurred. Aubut used to head the Quebec Nordiques, the National Hockey League team that was sold in 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche. He now heads the Canadian Olympic Committee. Committee spokesman Dimitri Soudas - formerly Harper's communications director - said Paradis's visit to the Aubut lodge "was strictly personal". Carl Vallee, a spokesman for Harper, said: "No lobbying occurred." Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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