Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault speaks in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, on Nov. 18.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is the current Most Problematic Minister in the Liberal cabinet. It’s a floating title – sort of like employee of the month, except for people who embarrass the government and undermine the importance of the office they serve – and one that several of the Prime Minister’s picks have worn over the years. Previous title-holders include Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, who, as defence minister, reportedly instructed Canadian special forces to rescue Afghan Sikhs who had no ties to Canada during the chaotic evacuation of Kabul in 2021, and Trade Minister Mary Ng, who awarded two contracts to a personal friend in contravention of the Conflict of Interest Act. Both are still in cabinet.
Now it’s Mr. Boissonnault’s turn to wear the sash and have his picture on the wall, though there should be no illusions as to whether his fate will be any different. Indeed, this government doesn’t tend to boot out problematic ministers unless it can bury the move in a cabinet shuffle.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault resigns from cabinet
For those who have not been following: Mr. Boissonnault is embroiled in two separate but related scandals. The first is over his alleged continued ties to the operation of a company he co-founded when he was out of politics. The second is over his shifting Indigenous-or-not identity, which, at present, he classifies as “not.”
Mr. Boissonnault formed a medical supply company called Global Health Imports (GHI) with business partner Stephen Anderson during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when he was out of office. As Global News first reported in May, Mr. Boissonnault’s name remained listed in business registries as the director of GHI for more than a year after he was appointed to the Liberal cabinet. In response to that report, the minister said he had actually resigned from the company in the fall of 2021 and that it was Mr. Anderson’s responsibility to update the registries.
Mr. Boissonnault also maintained his 50-per-cent stake in the company until June of 2024, which was months after GHI bid on and won a federal contract to supply gloves to Elections Canada. Mr. Boissonnault’s office said he had no knowledge of the bid and was not involved in the process. GHI itself has a sketchy past and present; it is mired in lawsuits and civil fraud allegations, owes roughly $8-million in court-ordered debts and had its warehouse destroyed by arsonists.
The ethics committee began probing Mr. Boissonnault’s involvement with the beleaguered company after Global News uncovered a series of 2022 text messages from Mr. Anderson telling a client he was updating “Randy” about a potential sale. Both Mr. Anderson and Mr. Boissonnault initially said the text messages referred to a different “Randy,” though Mr. Anderson later changed his story, blaming autocorrect instead. (He would not disclose the name he intended to type.)
Then, earlier this month, the National Post reported that GHI fallaciously called itself wholly Indigenous-owned while bidding on government contracts. Mr. Boissonnault again blamed Mr. Anderson, saying his business partner was responsible for bids and that he has never identified as Indigenous. Despite that claim, in 2016, Mr. Boissonnault was included in the Liberals’ Indigenous caucus (he has since said his membership was as an “ally”) and previously identified himself as “adopted Cree.” He now says his mother and brother are Métis.
The most generous, credulous interpretation of Mr. Boissonnault’s lengthy list of troubles is that he is a well-meaning guy who is confused about his background and who exercised incredibly poor judgment by saddling himself to an unscrupulous business partner. By this interpretation, Mr. Anderson used Mr. Boissonnault’s name without his knowledge or consent as leverage for his business dealings while Mr. Boissonnault was busy with government business.
The nefarious interpretation is that the minister was indeed communicating with his business partner and participating in the operation of GHI in contravention of sections 13(2) and 15(b) of the Conflict of Interest Act. The Ethics Commissioner has so far deemed Mr. Boissonnault’s activities to be kosher.
Yet even if the credulous interpretation is the true one, it reflects incredibly poorly on Canada’s government that someone with such a breadth of baggage remains in cabinet. (The laundry list here really runs the gamut; it’s hard to find a single guy tied to everything from corporate fraud to fake Indigenous ancestry.) Mr. Boissonnault might be entirely innocent, and he is owed the opportunity to clear his name, but he is not owed a cabinet position in the Canadian government – not with so many questions yet unanswered. The Canadian people, by contrast, are owed a minister of a certain level of gravitas – one who isn’t a central character in an ever-evolving clown show. The Most Problematic Minister in Canada’s government should, at the very least, be demoted to Most Problematic MP.