Former PM lobbied for French infrastructure fund
Joe Clark reported under new rules
Former prime minister Joe Clark registered to lobby the federal government on behalf of a French private equity firm that hoped to help build a replacement for Montreal’s Champlain Bridge.
In July, Clark met with officials from Transport Canada and Public Works and Government Services on behalf of Paris-based Meridiam Infrastructure S.A.R.L., becoming the first former prime minister to report contacts with government officials under new lobbying rules enacted in 2008.
Clark listed the subject matter of his lobbying as “infrastructure” and was in contact with officials affiliated with the government’s plan to build a new bridge over the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, replacing the aging Champlain Bridge.
In filings with the commissioner of lobbying, Clark reported a meeting with Helena Borges, the associate deputy minister at Transport Canada, and with Lisa Wong, the team leader in the unit handling the new bridge tendering for Public Works on the massive private-public partnership.
Clark’s registration says he is lobbying related to a government contract with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Privy Council Office, the House of Commons, and Export Development Canada, which lends money to foreign companies that buy Canadian products.
Meridiam Infrastructure was part of a consortium invited to submit requests for qualification to undertake the multi-billion-dollar project, believed to be one of North America’s largest infrastructure undertakings.
Clark’s work with Meridiam did not, however, appear to pay off: The company’s consortium was not on the short list of three consortia invited to submit requests for proposal.
The winning bid will be announced next April, with construction beginning in the summer.
Meridiam Infrastructure specializes in investments in public-private partnership and lists on its website only one Canadian project, a $632-million light-rail link between Kitchener, Ont. and Waterloo. Clark is a member of the company’s board.
Clark was prime minister for nine months between 1979 and 1980 before his government fell over a confidence vote on a federal budget. He later served as minister of external affairs in Brian Mulroney’s government and, after leaving politics, came back to lead the Progressive Conservative party.
He and his wife, Maureen McTeer, now run a consulting company in Ottawa, although his lobby work seems at odds to the company’s stated mandate.
Clark did not respond to calls requesting comment.