Wednesday 16 September 2020

Freeland, Vance and several federal officials barred from official dealings with ex-ambassador

https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies





Replying to   @alllibertynews and 49 others                                                           Data Mining???                                                                                                                                Methinks anyone can type names such as Jonathan Vance and David Amos into a search engine and find out lots of things Mr Dion knows N'esy Pas?

 

https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/09/freeland-vance-and-several-federal.html




https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/palantir-macnaughton-ethics-1.5726443
 

Freeland, Vance and several federal officials barred from official dealings with ex-ambassador

Former ambassador broke law by offering officials pro bono assistance on behalf of Palantir

 

Catharine Tunney · CBC News · Posted: Sep 16, 2020 2:02 PM ET 

 


David MacNaughton, then the ambassador to the U.S., looks out of his window at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. Monday August, 12, 2019. Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion launched a probe into MacNaughton’s interactions with senior Trudeau government officials in his new role as Palantir Canada president back in June. (Jason Burles/CBC)

Canada's ethics commissioner has ordered nine senior officials — including two Liberal cabinet ministers and the chief of the defence staff — to have no official dealings with Palantir executive David MacNaughton for one year after his office found the former ambassador and Liberal adviser broke the Conflict of Interest Act.

Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said MacNaughton, who was named president of Palantir Technologies Canada more than a year ago, spoke with or arranged multiple meetings with several public office holders for the purpose of offering pro bono assistance on Palantir's behalf.

The controversial company builds data mining technology for its clients and is used by intelligence agencies, banks and some of the biggest companies in the world.

While the offers did not result in any contracts being awarded to Palantir, the former ambassador to the U.S. "has acknowledged, with the benefit of hindsight, that these communications and meetings, to the extent they could have furthered the interests of Palantir, were contrary to [the act]," Dion wrote in his findings.

The act prohibits former public office holders from "acting in such a manner as to take improper advantage of their previous public office."

If the commissioner determines that a former reporting public office holder violated that rule, he can order current public office holders to have no official dealings with them.

The nine officials include:

  • Chrystia Freeland, current deputy prime minister (and minister of intergovernmental affairs when MacNaughton's communications with government officials took place)
  • Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of defence staff 
  • Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and industry
  • Rick Theis, director of policy and cabinet affairs, Prime Minister's Office
  • Ryan Dunn, chief of staff to Bains
  • Leslie Church, chief of staff to the minister of public services and procurement
  • Jody Thomas, deputy minister, Department of National Defence
  • Bill Matthews, deputy minister, public services and procurement
  • Simon Kennedy, deputy minister, innovation, science and economic development

Freeland and MacNaughton, who worked closely on negotiating the updated trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico back in 2017–2018, had three general discussions about the novel coronavirus in March during which McNaughton talked about what Palantir was doing to help other governments on a pro bono basis, said Dion.

 

Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
@EthicsCanada
 
Nine senior officials, including ministers and DMs, have been ordered by #EthicsCommissioner Dion, under subs. 41(1) of the #COIAct, not to have official dealings w/ former ambassador David MacNaughton for one year. Details here: bit.ly/3mqDsbd
 
Image                         2:11 PM · Sep 16, 2020
 

That same month, MacNaughton also talked to Vance twice and offered Palantir's help if needed. 

"From my part there was no conversation on the matter of pro bono work," Vance told CBC News. He recently announced his retirement but remains Canada's top soldier until his replacement is named.

"It was offered, noted and not acted upon."

MacNaughton's March contacts with Bains involved arranging a meeting between Palantir staff and Public Service and Procurement Canada, according to the ethics report.

News of MacNaughton's interactions with government officials was first reported by The Logic back in April. The outlet reported that the longtime Liberal told a business audience during a teleconference that Palantir was in discussions with the federal government and several provinces.

Dion announced he was investigating MacNaughton back in June after NDP MP Charlie Angus asked the commissioner's office to take a closer look at the former ambassador's conversations with government officials.

"Here we see a senior Trudeau Liberal nailed for breaking conflict of interest laws, while working for a dark and controversial surveillance giant," said Angus in a statement on Wednesday.

"Trudeau's former U.S. ambassador should have known better, but it seems that Mr. MacNaughton didn't think the rules applied to him as he used his former status to pitch his new employers. Hasn't anyone in Trudeau's team read the law?"

 

 
 
 
1439 Comments 
 
 
 
David Amos 
Data Mining??? Yea Right Methinks anyone type names such as Jonathan Vance and David Amos into their favourite search engine and find out about lots of things that the lawyer Mario Dion won't tell you N'esy Pas? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
David Amos
Methinks Mario Dion' the former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner should review our email exchanges and all the documents on file with the Commission since 2007 then review the letter and the emails I got from his predecessor Madame Dawson in 2016/17 N'esy Pas?  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aaron Morris
Imagine all the stuff that we don't know about. Jeesh.
 
 
Normy Crow
Reply to @Aaron Morris: We have no choice but to imagine because CBC refuses to report it. AND as we all k now, if CBC didn`t report it, it didn`t happen.
 
 
Bradley Clinton
Reply to @Normy Crow: 2 points for C bC reporting this latest NINE scandals.
 
 
Normy Crow 
Reply to @Bradley Clinton: Sure.After it was reported elsewhere for days.
 
 
Normy Crow 
Reply to @Bradley Clinton: AND scandals aren`t the only news left out of the news. If this audience actually read ALL the news,they`d know better. But they prefer just being lambs at pasture.
 
 
Stephen George 
Reply to @Normy Crow:
and some want to be Rams.
 
 
Carson Brook
Reply to @Aaron Morris: Conservative-chosen witness Duff Conacher of his self-named Democracy Watch, which denies oversight requests to reveal full financial record, stated in WE committee hearings that Ethics Commissioner did break guidelines and rules in middle of investigations - then wrote in changes and new rules not previously there - in order to find Justin Trudeau in ethics violation.... (anyone can listen to his testimony in committee). Conacher is accurate about that - thing is, he and presumably those who called him as a witness, think that kind of seemingly unethical conduct by a commissioner is a really good thing for Canada and that the commissioner should be doing more of the mid-review rule changing more often. There - more of the stuff we don't know about.... the conduct of the commissioner.... Jeesh
 
 
David Amos
Content disabled 
Reply to @Aaron Morris: Data Mining???
Yea Right Methinks anyone can type names such as Jonathan Vance and David Amos into their favourite search engine and find out about lots of things that the lawyer Mario Dion won't tell us N'esy Pas?
 
 
David Amos
Content disabled 
Reply to @Carson Brook: Methinks the lawyer Duff Conacher need to study all the document and listen to the CD I snt him in 2004 then ask Mario Dion the former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner if he should review our email exchanges and all the documents on file with the Commission since 2007 then review the letter and the emails I got from his predecessor Madame Dawson in 2016/17 N'esy Pas?

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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