Public records contradict Boissonnault business associate’s testimony to ethics committee

Liberal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault’s former business partner made several statements to the parliamentary ethics committee that contradict public records obtained by Global News.

Interviews, corporate records and legal documents contradict some key facts of Stephen Anderson’s July 17 testimony about Global Health Imports (GHI), the company he co-owned with Boissonnault until last month.

The statements include how many people GHI employed and when it ceased operations.

Committee members questioned Anderson on whether Boissonnault remained involved in the medical supply business after he joined cabinet, which would be in breach of federal ethics laws.

Anderson denied Boissonnault was involved in the company and said autocorrect caused him to reference “Randy” nine times in text messages to a buyer. He also admitted to lying to Global News about the identity of “Randy,” leaving some committee members wary of the truthfulness of his remarks.

“No one at this committee believes you. Canadians don’t believe you,” Larry Brock said during the hearing.

If a person deliberately misleads the committee or fails to answer committee questions or provide documents, its members can report it to the House of Commons. MPs will then vote on whether to find a witness in contempt of Parliament.

Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said that Global News’ findings further indicate Anderson “isn’t one to be believed.”

“It tells us everything we need to know about the kind of company that Randy Boissonnault keeps,” he said.

Witnesses are expected to tell the truth when testifying, NDP ethics critic Matthew Green told Global News.

“To learn that he provided the committee with incorrect information is very disappointing, but perhaps not overly surprising,” he said.

Although rare, the House can publicly discipline someone found in contempt of Parliament. This last happened when MPs called the lead witness in the ArriveCan scandal into the House after he was found in contempt.

Anderson did not acknowledge Global News’ questions and requests for comment.

Global News previously reported on texts Anderson sent to Malvina Ghaoui, principal of The Ghaoui Group, on Sept. 8, 2022. Those messages showed him consulting someone named “Randy” on a business deal.

At the time the messages were sent, Boissonnault was minister of tourism and associate minister of finance. He was a partner at GHI until September 2021 when he won back his Edmonton Centre seat. Boissonnault’s office said he then resigned from the company.

Ethics laws forbid public office holders from operating or managing businesses while in office.

 

New texts mention ‘Randy’ six more times

In new texts from Sept. 6, 2022 obtained by Global News, Anderson mentions “Randy” six more times, bringing the total number of references to nine across two days.

Boissonnault, now employment minister, denies he is the “Randy” in the text messages and said he has no involvement in GHI since his re-election.

The new texts reveal Anderson was updating “Randy” via alleged phone calls, texts, and emails about the status of the transaction between GHI and The Ghaoui Group, a California-based company. One text mentions “Randy” being involved in a “partner vote” on the deal.

The messages also place “Randy” in Vancouver at the same time Boissonnault was there for a cabinet retreat. His office previously said the minister could not have communicated with Anderson that weekend because he was in meetings in Vancouver where all electronic devices were confiscated.

“That particular part of the text exchange blows Mr. Boissonnault’s cover,” Green said.

Between Sept. 6 and Sept. 8, Anderson repeatedly asked Ghaoui about the status of a $500,000 deposit her company was to send.

“I have Randy and them I need to update,” he wrote on Sept. 6, 2022. The next text reads: “Asking as west coast is closing in 7 min and Randy is in the Vancouver office.”

Ian Stedman is an assistant professor of ethics and governance at York University

“That text alone should make the ethics commissioner want to formally ask some questions,” he said.

The minister declined an interview with Global News. Alice Hansen, his director of communications, responded with a statement that did not address questions about the Sept. 6 text placing “Randy” in Vancouver at the same time the minister was there.

Boissonnault’s office repeated its statement from July 17, in which Boissonnault said he was “deeply troubled and disappointed” by Anderson’s testimony and accused him of using his name “without his knowledge or consent.”

“If Mr. Anderson was in fact referring to someone else, he should give that person’s name to the committee,” Hansen wrote.

Anderson told the committee GHI had offices in Edmonton and Brossard, Que., not Vancouver.

Citing confidentiality, the ethics commissioner’s office said it couldn’t comment on whether the office intends to reopen its Boissonnault case file.

The minister had previously been subject to a preliminary probe after Global News reported on the text messages from Sept. 8. In a June letter, Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein wrote he did not have any information to support the allegation that Boissonnault contravened the Conflict of Interest Act on Sept. 8, 2022.

The business deal discussed in the texts is now the subject of a civil fraud lawsuit filed in Edmonton. The Ghaoui Group alleges Anderson and two of his employees committed fraud. All three deny the allegations, which are unproven.

Stedman said Anderson’s testimony, combined with the new text messages, reflects badly on the Liberals.

“This is not a good look for (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau’s inner circle, particularly since he spent the last two years navigating different scandals with members of his cabinet and himself,” he said.

Barrett called for Boissonnault to be removed from cabinet.

“It is beyond time now for (Trudeau) to fire his minister from Edmonton,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.

Public records contradict Anderson’s testimony

On July 17, Anderson — wearing a white suit, Christian Louboutin boot heels, and toting a large Louis Vuitton bag — was summoned to answer MPs’ central question: Who is the Randy in the texts?

In his nearly two-hour long testimony, Anderson refused to say. He claimed if he identified the person — a woman — the media attention could cause her harm. Instead, he offered to tell members in a private meeting. When most refused, he said he would submit the name to the clerk after his testimony.

Anderson said Boissonnault was the only person named Randy ever employed at GHI. But he insisted that is not who he was referring to in his texts to Ghaoui.

“Randy Boissonnault was never involved in the operating business of Global Health Imports after September of 2021,” Anderson said repeatedly.

MPs then questioned Anderson about his two businesses, GHI and Global Healthcare Solutions (GHS). GHI, which Anderson co-owned with Boissonnault until just recently, bought and sold medical supplies such as gloves and isolation gowns.

The minister surrendered his 50-per cent stake in the company last month because his shareholder status was being politicized, his office said.

It’s unclear what kind of company GHS is; it has no online presence and Anderson has not answered Global News’ questions about it. Boissonnault said he has had no stake or role.

It was during this line of questioning that Anderson made claims that contradict public records and Boissonnault’s own statements.

He stated that GHI had 121 employees. However, Boissonnault said in June, when he was running the company, GHI was small — just him, Anderson, and a few employees.

Curtis James, the manager of a packaging distribution company in the adjoining warehouse complex that housed GHI until late 2022, scoffed at the number and said GHI had “a half dozen (employees) at most.”

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A Linkedin search revealed fewer than five employees.

Anderson also said The Ghaoui Group had a contract with both GHI and GHS. Court documents show GHS did not enter into an agreement with The Ghaoui Group, only GHI did. In his sworn affidavit, Anderson said “neither I, nor GHS, are parties to these agreements.”

 

He told MPs GHI ceased operating and generating revenue after the company’s warehouse was broken into and a fire was deliberately set on Sept. 25, 2022. Edmonton Police investigated but it was never solved.

In response to a question from NDP MP Green about whether he still receives a salary or dividends, Anderson said, “There have been no payments since September, since 2022, since the incident that occurred in Edmonton.”

“Because there has been no business?” Green asks.

“The business hasn’t been operating since 2022,” Anderson said.

Anderson also said this in his sworn affidavit in the fraud case against him.

“The fire resulted in the suspension of GHI’s Medical Devices Establishment License (MDEL), crippled GHI’s ability to operate its business,” Anderson’s affidavit reads.

However, Global News found GHI continued to operate and bid on municipal and provincial contracts after the fire.

In October 2022, just two weeks after the blaze, GHI was awarded a $8.2-million deal to supply the Quebec government with disinfectant wipes.

The next month, Anderson began purchasing wipes from an Edmonton-based medical supplier. Quebec’s government acquisitions centre said, as of December 2023, GHI has been paid just under $100,000, but notes that there have been no new sales this year.

The supplier, Canada Medical, sued GHI in April 2023 for around $65,000 in alleged unpaid bills. It won by default because GHI did not file a defence. However, Carla Rodych, Canada Medical’s president, said they haven’t recouped the money.

Canada Medical is one of six companies that has taken legal action against Anderson and GHI since 2021. The company has lost five lawsuits by default and settled one. Boissonnault is not named in any of the lawsuits.

In his opening statement, Anderson said that every business of which he has been a part has been “ethical, legal, and completely above board.”

Rodych was shocked: “It seems he doesn’t understand what ‘ethical’ means.”

She points to his claim GHI shut down in September 2022 despite public records to the contrary and the “antics” she said he used to delay paying her company.

Anderson “consistently made excuses and lied to avoid any fiduciary responsibility,” she said.

GHI has also continued to bid on tenders across Canada. The company has a bid currently under evaluation on an Ontario government tender and last year, it bid on contracts to supply medical gloves to the City of Hamilton and respirators to the Yukon government.

While Anderson’s witness testimony before House committees was not under oath, “lying before the committee is contempt,” Tory ethics critic Barrett said.

An honest mistake does not amount to contempt, but if a person’s conduct obstructs or impedes the functions of government or the duties of MPs, or if their behaviour is found to be offensive to the “authority or dignity of the House,” they can be found in contempt.

Barrett said the committee is already preparing a report to the House because Anderson did not submit records requested by the committee by deadline.

Anderson was ordered to provide written responses to questions he refused to answer, including the name of the individual he was referring to in the texts, by Friday, July 19 at noon. The committee clerk did not respond to Global News’ inquiry into whether he had submitted the name.

Boissonnault has been called to testify before the committee again the week of Sept. 16.

– with files from Patti Sonntag, Alex Boutilier, and Charles Rusnell.

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