The Conservative Party has tabled a motion calling for “the other Randy,” who was allegedly employed by a company co-founded by Employment Minister Randy Boissonneau, to appear before a parliamentary committee.
Movement cAll for individuals testifying before the House Ethics Committee, Along with the other co-founder of Global Health Imports.
Since taking up his post as minister, Boissonneau has faced questioning about his alleged involvement in business with Global Health Imports, which may have violated conflict of interest laws.
Earlier this week, Global News published the September 2022 text messages. The dispute is between Stephen Anderson, Mr. Boissonneau’s former business partner, and Malvina Gaoui, president of the California-based sourcing company Gaoui Group.
The text messages implicated someone named “Randy” in discussions about a wire transfer of about $500,000 to secure a bulk shipment of nitrile gloves, raising questions about whether Boissonneau was involved in the day-to-day running of PPE company Global Health Imports a year after joining the federal cabinet.
“That person is not me,” says the minister.
A spokesperson for the company told Global News that the “Randy” mentioned in the email is not a reference to Boissonneau. The spokesperson said the Randy mentioned in the email is the company’s “head of logistics” but did not provide his last name.
“Since being elected in 2021, I have not played any role in this company,” Boissonneau said in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Boissonneau also told the ethics committee he did not know the other Lundy’s last name.
“That person is not me,” he said Tuesday.
He shared his phone records with the Ethics Committee and the commissioner, claiming that the records prove he is not the person depicted in the article.
Alice Hansen, a spokesperson for Boissonneau’s office, said that on the day the text message was sent (Sept. 8, 2022), Boissonneau was at cabinet residence in Vancouver and did not have access to electronic devices during the meeting.
Boissonneau co-founded Global Health Imports in 2020. He is the sole owner of an Alberta-numbered company, according to his disclosures posted on the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Board webpage. “We hold a significant interest in Global Health Imports Corporation.”
He said Tuesday that 50% of Global Health Imports’ shares are currently held by a holding company.
By law, all ministerial assets whose value could rise or fall depending on federal government decisions must be placed in blind trusts, and conflict of interest laws prohibit ministers from having “any management or control” over those assets.
Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said it “transgresses reason and conviction” for Boissonneau to suggest that someone named Randy, whose last name he does not know, works for Global Health Imports.
“This is outrageous,” Barrett told CBC News, “which is why we made this request. This is an opportunity for Randy Boissonneau’s business partners to demonstrate candor.”
The motion calls for “the other Randy” to appear before the Ethics Committee by June 18. Although they do not have the last name of “the other Randy,” the Conservatives believe the committee’s secretary has enough information to send out an invitation.
A spokesman for the Leader’s Office said it was unclear whether it was possible to call someone to testify before the committee without their name being revealed.
During question and answer session, Conservative MPs criticised Mr Boissonneau for being “another Randy”.
“That seems a little fishy, right? No, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said during a question-and-answer session on Friday. “If there is another Randy, what’s his last name?”
Committee members could vote on the motion as early as Tuesday.
