Ethics Commissioner Launching 3rd Probe Into Employment Minister Boissonnault’s Business Dealings

Konrad von Finckenstein poses for a portrait in his office in Gatineau, Que., on Jan. 17, 2012. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein says he is reviewing the business dealings of Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault for a third time.

“This new stuff has come up, which I was not aware of,” von Finckenstein told MPs on the House of Commons public accounts committee on Aug. 8, referring to new text messages that had surfaced showing Boissonnault’s former business partner speaking with someone named “Randy” regarding a 2022 business deal.

In both previous probes, Von Finckenstein decided he would not launch a formal investigation into Boissonnault’s business dealings, saying there was no evidence that the minister acted improperly.

Von Finckenstein first looked into Boissonnault’s business dealings after Global News reported in May that he remained listed as a director of the medical supply company Global Health Imports Corporation while serving in public office. Boissonnault and his former business partner Stephen Anderson formed the company in 2020, when Boissonnault was not an elected official

Boissonnault has said he was a partner at the company until September 2021, when he won back his seat in the riding of Edmonton Centre and was appointed to the cabinet position of tourism minister. He then stepped down from the company, as required when holding public office in Canada, but remained a 50 percent shareholder in the company until recently.

The ethics commissioner’s second probe came after the outlet reported that Anderson had sent text messages to a client on Sept. 6 and 8, 2022, where he referred to “Randy” asking for a “partner call.” Anderson told the House of Commons Ethics Committee on July 17, 2024, that his phone had auto-corrected the name to “Randy” several times.

“Randy Boissonnault was not involved with our operation or in any business relations after September of 2021,” he added.

Anderson said he had previously lied to Global News, which broke the original story about the text messages, by telling them there was another man named Randy working for the company. “I admit that I did panic when [the reporter] said ‘Is there another Randy?’” he said.

When appearing before the committee on June 4, Boissonnault said he was not the person Anderson had mentioned in his text messages, and that he had always “conducted myself in an ethical manner.”

New Text Messages

During his appearance at the public accounts committee on Aug. 8, von Finckenstein was asked about a new series of text messages released in July, which showed that Anderson was updating someone named “Randy” about the status of business dealings on Sept. 6, 2021.

Another one of Anderson’s text messages mentioned that “Randy” was in Vancouver, which appears to line up with Boissonnault’s trip to the city for a cabinet retreat from Sept. 6 to 8, 2022.

“Does this new information require a further look into the matter by you?” Conservative MP Michael Barret asked the ethics commissioner.

Von Finckenstein said he had asked Boissonnault to provide him with all phone records and communications from several messaging apps for Sept. 6 and 7, 2022. Following that, he said, he would be able to determine whether Anderson had been “using his name in vain, or whether there were actually conversations.”