The federal government released a list of 41 employees seconded to the major projects office from private companies and federal institutions as the office pursues changes to Canada’s review process.
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The federal government has released a list showing 41 employees have been seconded to Canada’s major projects office from a range of private companies and federal bodies, according to the document made public Tuesday.
The office is working toward its mandate to improve Canada’s review process and help projects move faster, the release said.
The government’s disclosure came after Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs pressed Ottawa to make the staffing list public, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Earlier, the government had refused to disclose the information, and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said opposition MPs were promoting “conspiracy theories” when asked to release the list.
The released list includes one employee from the Bank of Montreal, two from RBC and one from Scotiabank.
It also lists four staffers from the Yukon government and one each from the governments of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
Among the private-sector employers named are ATCO EnPower, railways CN and CPKC, BHP Canada, Ledcor, the Pembina Pipeline Corp., TC Energy, TransAlta Corp. and law firm Torys, as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers and QSI Finance Canada.
The document also lists federal institutions with staff on loan, including nine from the Canada Energy Regulator, two from the Trans Mountain Corp. and one each from the RCMP, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canada Development Investment Corp.
Major projects office staff have previously said the federal government has an interchange program dating back to the 1970s to bring in private-sector employees with specific expertise and reimburse employers for part of their employees’ salaries.
At a House of Commons committee meeting last month, major projects office CEO Dawn Farrell told MPs that senior officials consult the parliamentary ethics commissioner and that other employees are cleared through human resources in the Privy Council Office.
Farrell said, in response to questions from Conservative MP Branden Leslie, “There are no conflicts of interest with these employees. It’s all been cleared. It’s all been cleared. We clear every single employee, and they have to sign disclosures, and they have to disclose which areas where they might be conflicted, and they cannot work on any projects where there are conflicts.”
Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin said the staffing list increased his concerns, arguing that the number of staff brought in from the Canada Energy Regulator and oil and gas companies would steer energy priorities within the major projects office.
In a statement, an Intergovernmental Minister spokesperson said the government has “full confidence” in the standard set out in the major projects office’s conflict of interest framework.
The spokesperson said the Build Canada Exchange Program has for more than 50 years helped attract Canadians with a variety of experiences and skill sets to contribute to the Government of Canada’s mission.
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