The federal government released a list of 41 employees on loan to the major projects office from banks, companies and governments.
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The federal government released a list of 41 employees that the major projects office has seconded, including staff from banks, oil and gas firms and mining companies, as it works to improve Canada’s project review process.
Ottawa said the list was made public after it initially resisted disclosing the information, with Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs pressing the government for months to reveal the names of employees lending staff to the office.
The document includes one employee from the Bank of Montreal, two from RBC, and one from Scotiabank, along with staff from the Yukon government and the governments of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
Companies named as having lent employees include ATCO EnPower, CN and CPKC, BHP Canada, Ledcor, Pembina Pipeline Corp., TC Energy, TransAlta Corp., and law firm Torys, as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers and QSI Finance Canada.
Federal institutions also have 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 CEO Dawn Farrell told MPs at a House of Commons committee meeting that senior officials like her consult the parliamentary ethics commissioner, while other employees are cleared through human resources in the Privy Council Office, and that employees must sign disclosures and not work on projects with conflicts.
While acknowledging the process described by the office, Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin said the released list furthered his concerns about conflicts, arguing it gives the appearance that energy priorities are being pushed within the major projects office.
In response, a spokesperson for Intergovernmental Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government has “full confidence” in the standard set out in the office’s conflict-of-interest framework, describing it as based on requirements for disclosure and protection of non-public government information.
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