The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Friday that Harper has consulted with the ethics commissioner over the fact that his younger brother, Grant, works for Talisman Energy, the Calgary-based oil and gas company.
“The Prime Minister has taken steps internally to avoid ever being involved with any matter dealing with Talisman,” said director of communications Andrew MacDougall. “Matters of general application, like tax rates, are of course not relevant here.”
Talisman is expected be the target of a foreign takeover attempt, once the government decides whether to approve the acquisition of Nexen Inc. by China’s national oil company, CNOOC.
Talisman is already in a joint venture with China’s Sinopec oil company and a recent management change triggered speculation it is grooming itself for sale to Asian interests.
As in the pending Nexen deal, any sale of Talisman to foreign interests would be reviewed under the Investment Canada Act and scrutinized by cabinet through the highly-subjective “net benefit” test.
Grant Harper’s position as a chartered accountant with Talisman seems to be one of the few potential personal conflicts-of-interest that the prime minister has faced in the job. With no real background in the business world — he worked mostly in politics and as the head of the right-wing advocacy group, the National Citizens Coalition — there has been little apparent crossover between Harper’s public duties and past or present private interests.
This contrasts with Harper’s predecessor, Paul Martin, who was repeatedly dogged by concern about potential collisions between the public interest and his family shipping company, Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.
Measures to avoid conflicts of interest, such as the compliance agreement binding Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright in dealings with his former company, are typically posted on Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson’s website.
Harper’s public filings with Dawson’s office make no mention of any recusals or compliance agreements related to Talisman, possibly because he has yet to be faced with a situation requiring him to step aside.
“You can’t make a public declaration if you have no recusal to declare,” said Jocelyne Brisebois, a spokesperson for the ethics commissioner.
Talisman is currently registered to lobby the Prime Minister’s Office on numerous files involving energy, taxation, foreign affairs and resource extraction.
In addition to the company’s own executives, three consultant lobbyists, including well-connected Conservative Goldy Hyder of Hill and Knowlton, are registered on behalf of Talisman to lobby the PMO and other departments.
The only declarable assets and liabilities Harper lists in his ethics declarations are his wife Laureen’s Raymond James investment account, comprised of publicly-traded securities, and a Bank of Nova Scotia loan they hold jointly.
The conflict-of-interest code for MPs requires listing of sources of income for spouses but not siblings.
Harper’s two brothers, both accountants by trade, have largely avoided the media spotlight since he was elected prime minister in 2006.
During the 2004 election campaign, when asked to name his best friends, Harper said, “My brothers,” according to a 2006 story in the Calgary Herald.
Both Grant and the youngest Harper brother, Robert, had been actively involved in his campaigns, dating back to his 1993 run for office as a Reform Party MP, the paper said.
Robert also managed his brother’s 2002 bid for leadership of the Canadian Alliance and made a rare foray on to the public record when he wrote a letter to the National Post regarding a disagreement with then-rival Stockwell Day’s campaign.
Grant Harper did not respond to a call on Friday.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: GLEN MCGREGOR
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