General

Ministers intervened in Harper spokesman’s lobbying

Montreal Port Authority told to ignore “pressure” from Dimitri Soudas

The Globe and Mail has revealed that foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon and public works minister Michael Fortier both intervened to stop Dimitri Soudas, Stephen Harper’s spokesman, from lobbying the Montreal Port Authority to appoint engineer Robert Abdallah as its president. A former staffer of Fortier’s said the intervention resulted in a tense call from Soudas, who claims he did nothing wrong and simply indicated the Prime Minister’s preference for the next president. But Soudas also told the Commons Operations Committee in 2008 that he had not met with board members on the issue, and that he “did not remember” contacting them. While the federal government does directly appoint the heads of many agencies, the Montreal Port Authority has the sole authority to select its president as outlined in the Canada Marine Act.

The Globe and Mail


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