A Culture of Corruption
By Damien Kurek
Battle River - Crowfoot MP
The culture of corruption within the Liberal government is truly astounding. Every day, it seems, Canadians wake up to another scandal, ethical violation, or misdeed involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or one of his ministers. The sheer number of corruption allegations against the governing party is unprecedented in Canadian politics and has sparked widespread distrust in the government and political system.
Trudeau and his ministers have severely damaged Canada’s reputation, both domestically and internationally. We are no longer seen as a country of integrity and democracy but as one plagued by shady backdoor deals and hidden scandals which could rival the plots of binge-worthy Netflix political dramas. Additionally, we have seen how this mismanagement, the flippancy to which they treat Parliament, and the mismanagement of Government has normalized constitutional crises.
The latest episode in this ongoing drama involves Randy Boissonnault, the (now former, but still current Liberal MP from Edmonton) Minister for Employment, Workforce Development, and Official Languages. Boissonnault "resigned" from his position on November 20th, 2024, to “clear [the] allegations [against him],” PM Trudeau stated. This decision follows months of investigations and controversy surrounding a business MP Boissonnault co-owned from 2019 to 2021 or possibly still co-owns (Global Health Imports – GHI).
The investigation was triggered by a series of stories involving GHI, Randy and Randy’s business partner, Stephan Anderson. In 2020, GHI successfully outbid multinational corporations for pandemic-related contracts and secured deals for pandemic-related items like disinfectant wipes and isolation gowns. When Randy won his Edmonton Centre seat back in 2021, he remained listed as a director of GHI in both provincial and federal business registries. During this time, GHI won over $8.2 million in contracts.
The Edmonton Centre MP’s supposed continued involvement with the company directly violated federal conflict-of-interest laws, which prohibits cabinet ministers from holding directorial positions in companies which do business with the government.
But the controversy doesn’t stop there; we now know GHI has a history of lawsuits and ethical violations, including unpaid bills, unfulfilled orders, and even more serious allegations, including fraud, arson, missing records, wire fraud, and even connections to international drug smuggling, which led to arrests and a massive cocaine bust in the Caribbean. Investigations into these allegations are still ongoing but read more like a Netflix docu-drama that the normally slow Canadian political news scene.
However, what ultimately led to MP Boissonnault’s ousting from the cabinet was his false claim of Indigenous heritage, which led to applications being made for contracts specifically designed for indigenous owned businesses. The MP has argued this was a mistake as he is learning about his heritage in real time, as more information about his family emerges. Most believe if there were any doubt in his mind about his ancestry, he should have refrained from making sweeping claims about GHI being indigenous owned, especially as he sought millions of dollars in government funding earmarked for Indigenous businesses.
It is abundantly clear: the Liberal Party has created a culture which fosters and protects corruption that allows insiders to get rich, erodes the integrity of our institutions, and leaves Canadians behind. Randy Boissonnault is merely the latest example of how rampant this corruption has become.
It is clear MP Boissonnault’s “resignation” on November 20th was not an attempt to root out corruption within the party. But is yet another example of PM Trudeau attempting to improve his image in the media while continuing to allow corruption to fester within his cabinet, with potentially far more sinister activities taking place behind the scenes. Common Sense Conservatives will continue to fight against corruption with every tool at our disposal. But ultimately, it will require an election to clean up the mess the Liberals have made.