Venetian Blind Trusts

Venetian Blind Trusts

By: Ryan Young

It was revealed during estimates in the House of Assembly on Tuesday that the establishment of the premier’s blind trust left the taxpayers of Newfoundland and Labrador on the hook for $42 900. This little tidbit came up when opposition members were questioning the government on expenses within the premier’s office, in particular, the amount that was listed under professional services.

Finance Minister Cathy Bennett was quick to point out that this is a long-established practice and provided a few details on the process. Any minister of the crown that has dealings that may be in a conflict of interest with the government must put their business holdings in a blind trust. The minister's work with the Chief Electoral Officer to establish the correct parameters regarding the blind trust and they approve any expenses that are deemed satisfactory. The minister pays for the expenses but is later reimbursed by the government and the cost is absorbed through their respective departments as “professional services.”

In this time of belt tightening it was surprising to hear that we pay for the establishment of these business trusts. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that blind trusts in this province have come under scrutiny. I’m sure that most of you are already thinking about the controversy surrounding the blind trust of former premier Danny Williams. While Williams was running the province, his blind trust (managed by his son-in-law) acquired 550 acres of land from the NL Housing Corporation at rock bottom prices. While no wrongdoing was ever proved, the situation did raise the issue of blind trusts in the public eye.  It is also worth noting that Williams took well over a year to put all his holdings in trust.

More recently, Dwight Ball was questioned on why it took him so long to establish his blind trust. Questions of conflict of interest first arose in April 2016 surrounding Ball’s stake in the senior’s residence, Sundara. By July, the trust had been established, but Ball had some curious comments for reporters who asked him for details:

“It’s called a blind trust for that reason.” Said Ball “And so the advice that I’ve been given, that the blind trust people that actually manage that — there’s a reason why it’s called a blind trust. For me to actually remove myself from my business interest, and put two people there that I would then publicly announce, would, I guess, the advice that I was given was, I guess, it wouldn’t be blind anymore, would it?”

It might have been nice if Ball had actually taken the time to look up the definition of a blind trust:

“A financial arrangement in which a person in public office gives the administration of private business interests to an independent trust in order to prevent conflict of interest. Under the trust, the owner does not know how the assets are managed.”

Being a “blind” trust has absolutely nothing to do with who knows who is managing the business interests and the fact that the premier didn’t know this is alarming. During the election campaign in 2015 Ball committed to being open and transparent when asked about blind trusts and promised to do whatever was necessary to strengthen legislation regarding conflicts of interest. Ball holds interests in at least 16 companies, several of which have involvement with government, which is why it is essential that he adheres to the guidelines outlined in legislation. Some people agree with the practice of using blind trusts, while others firmly believe that all government members should have to divest themselves of any business interests that put them in a conflict of interest before sitting in the legislature.

It is very hard to believe that a husband or a cousin or a son in law would be able to properly keep business dealings hidden and that no conversations will occur at family dinners or get togethers. While most people would agree that blind trusts are necessary to keep business dealings at arm's length from ministerial duties, many people feel they are little more than see-through “venetian blind trusts,” that sound good, but are not very effective at accomplishing their main goal or instilling confidence in the public that no back-door deals are being done to benefit business interests.

Back to the main point at hand, while it is great that Ball and his ministers have been able to get their holdings into their respective blind trusts, the fact that the taxpayer must foot the bill for the establishment of these trusts should be an outrage to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. I’m sure that if Premier Ball wants to retain his business holdings, that the expenses related to establishing and administering his trust should be his responsibility. Nobody should begrudge the premier or any other minister for any success they have had in their personal careers, but when they made the choice to run for public life they should have accepted the costs of establishing their respective trusts as the cost of doing business.

After nearly a year and a half of hearing Dwight Ball talk about our dire financial situation, learning that we paid $42 900 to establish his blind trust is beyond bad optics. Ball spent over $200 000 out of his own pocket during the Liberal leadership campaign in 2013 but the overburdened taxpayer is expected to pick up the tab for his blind trust? It doesn’t sit well with this blogger and I’m willing to bet that it is not going to sit well with very many voters when the information gets out to the public.

While this may have been acceptable behaviour in the past, this government has made it very clear that times are tough and things need to change. Maybe before they close any libraries or raise any more fees they should look at how much money is being spent on absurd entitlements like this on the taxpayer’s dime. If Dwight Ball really wanted to be a leader, he would lead by example and pay back the $42 900. Anything less is an insult to all of the people who are being burdened with over 300 new taxes and fees and being told that we all need to do our part.

The Resignation of Bern Coffey

The Resignation of Bern Coffey

By: Ryan Young

The resignation of the provinces top bureaucrat sent shockwaves through the local political scene Sunday night. After days of controversy, Bern Coffey has stepped down from his position of Chief of the Executive Council. The move came after a flurry of criticism was aimed at both Coffey and the government when the public learned that Coffey was representing a client who was suing Nalcor through his private law practice.

Allegedly, there was an agreement made when Coffey was appointed last September that would allow him to finish off any existing cases at his practice, but that he would not take on any new ones. In his defense of Coffey, Premier Ball said that the work was being done in Coffey’s personal time and that he was confident that he would continue to work diligently on behalf of the people. It probably would have been a fair arrangement, except for the fact that one of Coffey’s clients is suing Nalcor, and by extension, the government. Despite Coffey’s claims that “Chinese Walls” have been put in place to assure that there is no conflict of interest, the whole situation has been perceived very negatively by the public.

With so many communications blunders already under his belt, you would think that Dwight Ball would have stopped to think about the implications of allowing his top bureaucrat, basically his right-hand man, to continue with a legal case against Nalcor. Even if the Chinese walls were working and there was no conflict of interest, for the sake of optics somebody should have put the brakes on, knowing that this would eventually come out and come back to bite them in the ass. Now that time has come and the province will lose the services of a very capable and hard-working member of the inner circle of government.

It is no secret that Bern Coffey was a Liberal. He ran for the party leadership in 2011 and was a frequent financial contributor to the party throughout the years. His appointment was called cronyism by the opposition due to his close party ties, but nobody argued that he was qualified for the clerks job. As a former member of the 2041 group, many had hoped that Coffey would be a strong voice in discussions surrounding the Muskrat Falls project. By all accounts he took his position as clerk very seriously and it is unfortunate that he is leaving under circumstances that could have been avoided with a little common sense and transparency.

These are the types of decisions that leave many to question Dwight Ball’s leadership ability. The premier has had a tendency to make rash decisions without thinking them through and has spent more time back-peddling than pushing his agenda forward.  A decision like this one though is really hard to fathom. How could Ball or any of his senior team have thought that allowing your top bureaucrat to sue you in his spare time was a good idea? The whole thing is completely absurd. As one colleague put it to me: “They either have to be dumb or they just don’t care.” I used to think it was the former but now I am leaning towards the latter. Maybe the cynics are right and the Liberals know their time at the trough will be short so they are making sure to fill it up as much as they can.

How many more people will need to resign from this government before it becomes clear that the real problems are coming from the very top. Dwight Ball has made a career out of playing “duck and cover politics” without ever actually saying anything at all, and now it is becoming all too clear that he lacks the leadership qualities needed to manage our government. As much as Coffey should have known better than to keep that case, or the one against Western Health that surfaced in a CBC story this morning, Ball and the government should have been clear that any litigation against government is off limits for someone in such a position of power and confidence. It will be interesting to hear what Dwight Ball has to say later today when he meets with the press and even more interesting to see how the premier addresses the issue in question period as the house reopens after Easter break.

No matter which side of the political spectrum you sit on, it is hard not to agree that this was a very bad decision by the premier, and Coffey’s ultimate resignation was the only way that this story could possibly end. There was no way the public could continue to have confidence in Coffey’s role, and one way or another his time needed to come to an end.  It’s an unfortunate end to an unfortunate story and one that showcases the lack of thought that has been given to the most important decisions made by our government. We keep waiting for them to get it right, but somehow, they always seem to get it wrong. It makes me think my colleagues question might be the right one to ask. Are they dumb, or do they just not care?

Willful Blindness

Willful Blindness

By: Ryan Young

I generally make it a point to stick to local politics and not delve into the worlds of national and international politics, but with so few people seeming to notice or care that our Prime Minister just broke a federal law, I felt that I had to chime in on the matter.

The issue in question is Justin Trudeau’s family vacation to a private island owned by the Aga Khan. The Aga Khan is the spiritual leader to more than 15 million Ismaili Muslim. The fourth of the line Aga Khan, Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, is a noted billionaire philanthropist in addition to his role as a respected spiritual leader. He was granted honorary Canadian citizenship by Stephen Harper in 2009. While not a registered lobbyist himself, his foundation is responsible for lobbying millions from the federal government for international development. He is also a long-time family friend of the Trudeau’s and was even a pall bearer at Pierre Elliott’s funeral.

The Aga Khan owns a private island in the Bahamas and that was the site of a new year’s celebration that was attended by Trudeau and his family, as well as Newfoundland MP Seamus O’Regan and the President of the Liberal Party of Canada. Canada has very strict laws regarding the interaction of public officials with known lobbyists, and the trip has raised several red flags with opposition MP’s and ethics watchdogs. Given that the families are close, a holiday get together is not such a strange or bad thing, but the Liberal guests traveled to the island via Khan’s private helicopter, which changes the whole issue from a bad judgement call to a violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. Section 12 of the act clearly states:

“No minister of the Crown, minister of state or parliamentary secretary, no member of his or her family and no ministerial adviser or ministerial staff shall accept travel on non-commercial chartered or private aircraft for any purpose unless required in his or her capacity as a public office holder or in exceptional circumstances or with the prior approval of the Commissioner.”

That means that the Prime Minister was strictly forbidden from accepting the ride on the private helicopter, even if it was a family friend, and even if there was no other way to reach the island, as has been alleged. He had the option of clearing the trip beforehand with the ethics commissioner, but chose not to do so. Some have suggested that this was a poor lapse in judgement by Trudeau, but given the Liberal track record with ethics in the recent past, I think that is giving the Prime Minister a free pass. It is a clear violation of the act and the Prime Minister must be held accountable for his actions.

You can read the conflict of interest laws here: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-36.65/FullText.html

Let me be very clear here. The fact that Trudeau and his family and friends spent some time vacationing with a family friend on a private tropical island is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. With all the problems in our country right now, where the PM took his holiday vacation is small potatoes. But we can’t ignore the fact that the leader of our country willfully broke the law, when he had every opportunity to go through the proper channels to make it right. A simple call from the PMO to the ethics commissioner explaining the situation likely would have led to the request being granted. Unfortunately, through either incompetence or pure arrogance, the PM decided to act first and ask for forgiveness later and failed to inform the commissioner until days after the trip, when it had already been reported in the media. Asking for forgiveness later is not always a bad strategy for life, but it is behaviour unbecoming a Prime Minister, and Trudeau’s pure disregard for the ethics that come with his title should not be easily dismissed.

What bothers me the most is the willful blindness from people on these issues that should really matter, but apparently don’t. I mean our Prime Minister breaking the law should be a big deal, but instead of outrage on twitter, all you see is golden shower jokes and Trump Bashing. I am no more of a Trump fan than I am a Harper fan, but neither one of them has publicly admitted to breaking the law, yet we are willing to ignore Trudeau’s actions and brush a blatant breach of trust by a so-called progressive world leader under the rug while we watch the squirrel down south and assure ourselves that at least we have better than Harper now. Do we really?

The position of Prime Minister should not be a popularity contest. We need our leaders to be role models. Selfies are fine, and I have no issues with having a young Prime Minister with good hair, as long as he is willing to be the leader that he sold the country on.  So far, despite the sunny media coverage, that has not been the case. It is just business as usual in Ottawa. Trudeau continues to sell himself as a progressive, and it is an easy story to buy when you see him marching in the pride parade or talking tough about climate change. But when you look at the policies he has implemented, and the ones that he is dragging his feet on, he begins to look less like a saviour and more and more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

In Trudeau’s own words on the use of Khan’s private aircraft, "It's something that certainly we look forward to discussing with the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, but we don't see an issue on that." That statement alone should be enough to raise red flags about the Prime Ministers understanding and respect for our federal conflict of interest laws, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation in the country. Laws that safeguard against our politicians being “bought.” That the Prime Minister doesn’t see an issue with the situation only creates more questions about his ability to lead the country and his commitment to making Canada a better place than it was under Harper.

The private aircraft clause might even be a silly law in the big picture, especially when you consider the circumstances of the logistics involved in getting to Khan’s island. But being a silly law does not make the Prime Minister above it. Our current marijuana laws are considered by many to be silly as well, but try lighting up a spliff next to a police officer and see what happens to you. No matter what we think of it, the law is the law, and when we allow our elected officials to be above the law, we set a very dangerous precedent for ourselves and for our future. Elected officials need to be held to a higher standard, and we need to stop giving them a free pass through our own political apathy.

It will be very interesting to see how much life this story takes on. Will Trudeau face consequences for his blatant disregard for the law or will the media let him off the hook and let the story fade into the night? It usually drives me crazy that most people are more concerned about Trump or Trudeau than our own shit-show of a political scene here at home, but this is one instance where I would like to see people take a real interest and demand that the Prime Minister is made to answer for failing to respect the laws of the land.

A resignation seems a little extreme for this situation, but after days of refusing to provide details, and then acknowledging that he knowingly broke the law, I can’t really think of another course of action that would be suitable. The Prime Minister had plenty of time to get the trip approved, despite being fully aware of the illegality of his actions, and we cannot condone such actions from our elected leaders. While it is doubtful that a resignation will happen, and far more likely that the story will be swept under the rug, I hope that my readers will remember stories like this that continue to prove that there is no difference in party politics. Laws are for the plebes and government is no place for the concerns of the common man. As long as we continue to be willfully blind to the failings of our leaders, this will never change. Whether people believe it or not, the power really is in our hands. It’s time for us to stand up and use it. If we make enough noise, together, we can make sure that politicians are taken to task and held accountable when they fail us. Power to the people.