Baird says ethics watchdog cleared his jobs at CP, Barrick
Former foreign minister John Baird says he was given the “green light” by the federal ethics commissioner to take two high-paying positions in the private sector, even though he had dealings with both companies when he served in the Conservative government’s cabinet.
Last week, Barrick Gold Corp. revealed in securities filings that Baird would join the global mining company’s advisory board on international affairs. And on Monday, Canadian Pacific filed regulatory documents that showed Baird has been nominated for a seat on the transportation giant’s board of directors.
As foreign affairs minister, Baird was personally lobbied by a representative for Barrick, less than two years before he announced he was joining the company.
Baird had been contacted by a Barrick lobbyist on May 30, 2013, with respect to “Mining, International Relations,” according to a report filed by the company’s then-president and chief executive, Jamie Sokalsky. (Reporting rules do not require corporations to specify which in-house lobbyist communicated with the government official.)
At the time, Barrick was lobbying Foreign Affairs over “export credit financing with respect to investment and availability of capital” and other issues.
If Canadian Pacific shareholders elect him, Baird will earn $235,000 annually, and potentially more if he chairs one of several committees of board members. As transport minister in 2009, Baird had contact with a CP lobbyist over border infrastructure issues.
Baird could not be reached for comment but in a message posted on Twitter on Monday, he wrote, “I consulted the Ethics Commissioner before joining Barrick and before accepting CP’s invitation to serve on their Board. Got the green light.”
Federal ethics commissioner Mary Dawson’s office confirmed she consulted with Baird about his post-employment obligations under the Conflict of Interest Act but would not say anything more about the discussion.
The conflict-of-interest law, which Baird himself helped shepherd into law as part of the reforms of the Federal Accountability Act in 2006, prohibits former cabinet ministers from taking a job with any firm with which they had “direct and significant” dealings within a one-year period before they left office.
The prohibition remains in place for two years after the minister’s last day on the job.
That means Baird’s last reported contact with Barrick came eight months before the beginning of that one-year period preceding his resignation on Feb. 3. Because the contact with Barrick came more than a year ago, Baird does not have to wait out a cooling-off period before joining the company.
Baird had also been contacted by Barrick twice in 2012 on the same issue and once in 2010, in his capacity as an MP, according to reports filed by the company with the lobbying commissioner.
Baird’s last day as the MP for Ottawa West-Nepean came March 16. Barrick Gold announced on Friday that he and former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich have joined its 10-member advisory board.
In 2012, Dawson’s office investigated contacts between Barrick Gold and the prime minister’s then-chief of staff, Nigel Wright, regarding the company’s mining operations in Argentina. Wright had a personal connection to the company through founder Peter Munk’s son, Anthony. Dawson later discontinued the investigation, saying she had found no evidence Wright had contravened the Conflict of Interest Act.
Barrick Gold is still registered to lobby Baird’s former ministry on the same issues, though Sokalsky has since left company.
According to the company’s lobbying declaration, it was also lobbying Foreign Affairs over “partnerships with the Canadian International Development Agency under the Agency’s policy approach to the role of the private sector and extractives and development.”
CIDA is now part of Baird’s former department.
As Treasury Board president in 2006, Baird was the government’s point man on a series of legislative changes intended to reform ethics in the government under the umbrella of the Federal Accountability Act. Among them was set a strict five-year cooling-off period for people leaving government before they could take jobs as lobbyists.
Under that rule, Baird would be prohibited from lobbying the federal government on behalf of the company.