“Nobody’s business”: Sen. Larry Smith won’t publicly disclose his paid speaking events

With all this recent buzz over Justin Trudeau’s speaking events, I thought I’d ask another parliamentary paid speaker about his list of clients.

The well-trod back story: In February, Trudeau’s leadership campaign team agreed to my request to release, inter alia, a list of all the paid speaking gigs he did before declaring for his party’s top job.  The full list they provided is here.

Whatever your opinion on the propriety of MPs getting paid to speak — or to speak to charities — it’s worth noting there was no requirement under the MPs’ conflict-of-interest code to declare the list and certainly not with dollar values. Foolishly, perhaps, or possibly shrewdly,  Trudeau disclosed far more than he needed to.

Trudeau, of course, has been now agreed to pay back fees he charged to one charity that, nearly a year after the fact, became dissatisfied and complained they’d lost money on the event where he was paid $20,000.

As I reported in December, four five current members of the Senate also hang out their shingles as paid speakers:  Liberal Sen. Romeo Dallaire, Sen. Mike Duffy, Sen. Jacques Demers, Sen. Pamela Wallin and Sen. Larry Smith.

Duffy doesn’t return my calls anymore and Wallin explained at the time that she hasn’t taken paid speaking gigs since she became a senator (though issued an erratum correcting that she had done one event) .

So I called Smith’s office to ask if he would provide a list of his clients, in the interest of transparency.

Smith is listed with at least three speakers’ bureaus, here, here and here. According to one profile, the former CFL commissioner and failed Conservative candidate has spoken at some time in the past — possibly before he was elevated to the Upper Chamber — to corporate blue-chippers Desjardins, Labatt, Bell and General Motors.

Nichole Beck, his policy advisor, called me back:

“No, that’s sort of private business. He’s had his speaking business for over two decades, speaking on sports management, and leadership and motivation,” she said.

Beck said all of Smith’s work is declared to the ethics officer.

“He does as of required. He makes full disclosure.”

I asked if Smith would also agree to disclose his list of clients publicly, as Trudeau had done.

Nope.  Beck said some of his clients are private companies that hire him to speak to employees and who may not want that disclosed.

“It’s really nobody’s business in terms of the general public.”

She assured me, however, that Sen. Smith would not speak to anything that would create a conflict of interest.

Original Article
Source: ottawacitizen.com
Author:  Glen McGregor