"The appropriate thing in this case is for the minister simply to learn and to conduct himself with greater precaution in the future," Harper said at a press conference in Bangkok after announcing the first step towards free trade talks with Thailand.
Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson ruled Thursday that Paradis was in a conflict of interest when he arranged for Jaffer to meet with government officials and lobby them about a green business idea.
Responding to reporters' questions, Harper said he had read Dawson's report and "two things are clear."
"First of all, the minister didn't act with any ill intention of any kind. Nor has any substantial harm of any kind occurred."
The ruling, released Thursday after nearly two years of interviews with 21 witnesses, said Paradis violated one section of the act that prohibits giving preferential treatment to one person or company and making a decision that put him in a conflict of interest.
Paradis directed his staff to meet with Jaffer even after the latter was arrested on cocaine possession and drunk driving charges. The cocaine charge was eventually dropped.
Paradis's ministerial staff at Public Works, where he was minister at the time, explicitly asked him if he still wanted Jaffer and his business partners in Green Power Generation to meet with officials.
According to Dawson, Paradis stood by his decision and said he wanted the meeting to go ahead because Jaffer's solar panel project "was unrelated to his legal troubles."
"I find it odd that Mr. Paradis would have asked his department to proceed with the meeting in these circumstances. I question whether he would have done the same for someone with whom he did not have a prior relationship," Dawson wrote in her ruling.
Paradis said Thursday he accepted the commissioner's ruling.
"I have the privilege of serving Canadians as a minister of the Crown . . . duties I have always performed with the utmost integrity," Paradis said in a statement. "In the future, I will take further precautions when approached by Canadians seeking more information about the services and programs provided by their government."
Opposition parties said the ruling is a damning indictment against the government, which first rode to power on a mantra of accountability. The NDP and Liberal ethic critics didn't call for Paradis to step down, but rather said they wanted to see if Prime Minister Stephen Harper meted out any punishment for the ethics breach.
A third provision of the act — that of influencing a department decision — was not breached, Dawson ruled.
While Paradis may have just wanted to help a friend, which seemed to be the case, Dawson said, the cabinet minister should have known his decision meant Jaffer and Green Power Generation received an opportunity for government contracts that other companies did not.
"Ministers are in a position of power and have a special responsibility to ensure that that power is exercised fairly and in a way that is open to all Canadians," Dawson said in a statement.
The ruling marks the first time a sitting cabinet minister has been found in violation of the law, a violation that, according to the Conflict of Interest Act, carries no set fine or punishment.
Dawson said Paradis maintained he had not contravened provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act, nor that he offered special treatment to Jaffer.
While Jaffer and Paradis said they were not close friends, Dawson said she believed their past relationship as caucus colleagues was the reason the cabinet minister wanted to help the former MP.
"Jaffer told me that many of his former colleagues took an interest in how he was doing and wanted to help if they could," Dawson wrote.
The ruling echoes earlier findings by Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd in Dec., 2011.
She found Jaffer and his business partner, Patrick Glemaud, breached the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct by failing to register as lobbyists when they tried in 2009 to obtain about $178 million in federal cash for their company.
Jaffer began his irregular lobbying after losing his Edmonton seat in the 2008 general election, the only Alberta Conservative to lose that year. He was also criticized for continuing to use his MP business cards after losing the election.
Glemaud and Jaffer submitted proposals for $100 million in federal funding - a quarter of the total cost — to help build 11 renewable energy facilities across Canada using a technology called the BioDryer.
They also requested an additional $58 million to help develop a solar power facility near Brockville, Ont., and another $20 million to manufacture and install new power station technology at interprovincial and international bridges, ports and highways. Another $700,000 was sought, on behalf of another company, for a mercury capture test project at the Keephills coal-fired power plant in Alberta.
The company didn't receive any funding, was dissolved in July 2010 and is no longer in operation.
In March, the Commons operations and estimates committee detailed "four main inconsistencies" in Jaffer's testimony during a probe into government-funded renewable energy projects.
The committee found there were a number of contradictions between Jaffer's testimony and that of other witnesses — contradictions he failed to clarify when called upon a second time.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: Lee Berthiaume, Jordan Press and Jeff Davis
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