Angry in the Great White North

An open letter to the Ethics Commissioner:

Dear Dr. Shapiro,

I am writing to discuss the investigation of Pontiac MP David Smith and his relationship to the firm Abotech. With regards to the letter of complaint received from Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre, the following concerns were raised:

• Did Mr. Smith disclose to you or your office that he is a former President of Abotech Inc.?
• Has Mr. Smith or his family (those currently with a holding interest in Abotech Inc.) disclosed to you or your office all contracts that Abotech Inc. has had or currently has with any government entity?
• Did Mr. Smith disclose to you or your office that Mr. [Frank] Brazeau, reportedly a member of his local Liberal riding association, held a position as a contracting officer with Consulting and Audit Canada?
• Did Mr. Smith disclose to you or your office that Mr. Brazeau had interaction with Abotech Inc. on behalf of Consulting and Audit Canada given that Mr. Smith’s family has an interest in Abotech Inc. and that Mr. Smith was formerly the head?
• Does Mr. Smith have a relationship now with Abotech Inc. that is consistent with the Disclosure Summary signed by Mr. David Smith on June 7, 2005?
• Does the Code have measures in place to ensure that, if these allegations are correct, Mr. David Smith and Mr. Brazeau will not be in a position where there is a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest as it relates to Abotech Inc.?

These are all relevant issues, and worthy of investigation. However, the complaint is based on the limited information currently available from major media sources (in particular, articles that appeared in The Globe and Mail on October 19, "Ottawa cancels contracts after agency's audit", and October 24, "Audit targets bureaucrat over contract practices").

From a combination of public and private sources, a number of other potentially relevant issues have been raised:

• Did the blood relationship between Frank Brazeau and David Smith play a factor in the ethical conduct of David Smith. They are cousins; Smith's mother Suzanne Clement Smith and Brazeau's grandmother Thelorèse Clement Fournier were sisters. (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/129232.php).
• Did the contracts in question concern "set-asides" under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business? Frank Brazeau was a co-ordinator for PSAB (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/129138.php). Abotech is listed as an aboriginal business (see http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sc_coinf/ccc/index_gen/company.pl?lang=e&profileId=629_t&letter=a).
• How valid is the claim that Abotech is an aboriginal business? It is based on David Smith's assertion that he is an aboriginal, an assertion vigourously disputed by the Chief of Kitigan Zibi band, Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/129208.php).
• How recent was his claim? His high school teacher insists that David Smith did not have aboriginal status when he was in high school (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/129208.php). Is his claim based on the fact that the family farm was bought by the band as part of an ongoing land dispute sometime in the 90s? If his claim is based on a questionable foundation, does that factor into the ethical conduct of Abotech in landing government contracts?
• Was Abotech capable of performing the work for which it was hired? Abotech is run out of the family home (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/127441.php). Did David Smith make that fact clear in his original submission to your office in June 2005?
• Is the current president of Abotech, Anne Ethier, David Smith's wife, capable of running a computer consultancy firm? She is a nurse by training (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/128119.php). This goes to the credibility of David Smith's claim not to be involved in the ongoing work at Abotech.
• On the other hand, if Abotech does not do any of the work, perhaps Anne Ethier is qualified. But then who does the work? Could it be either of David Smith's former employers, computer firms Jaguar Solutions or ASM Informatique, where David Smith held positions as senior managers (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/127827.php)? If so, how does this reflect on the ethical conduct of David Smith if the contracts Abotech received were aboriginal set-asides, but the work was done by a company that does not qualify as an aboriginal business?
• Why do Jaguar Solutions and Abotech share a fax number (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/129325.php)?
• Why did the RCMP raid Frank Brazeau's home (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/129279.php)?
• Was the raid related to Abotech and aboriginal business? Or was it related to the fact that Abotech was the firm that managed the contract with Morneau Sobeco on behalf of the federal government, that contract in turn for Morneau Sobeco's services in managing the RCMP pension fund (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/134221.php)?
• If the RCMP is involved in this investigation, is there a potential conflict of interest because of the RCMP pension fund lawsuit? See The Globe and Mail article for November 15, "PS unions in court to recoup $30B from pension plans".
• What involvement, if any, did Abotech have in the question of inappropriate expenses charged to the RCMP pension fund, a problem that became public in the fall of 2003 (see http://stevejanke.com/archives/134221.php). The timing is significant because over the course of 2003, Abotech held a contract that directed it to select and manage a firm that in turn managed the RCMP pension fund. The investigation was concluded at the end of June 2005, and senior management at the RCMP promised to take appropriate administrative action. Was Abotech still involved in the management of the RCMP pension fund at this time? Is there a relationship between the termination of federal contracts with Abotech in the second half of 2005 and the delivery of the RCMP pension fund investigation report? Are there unresolved questions of ethical behaviour relevant to your investigation in the report delivered by Vince Bevan to the RCMP?

I look forward to the conclusions of your investigation.

Yours truly,
Steve Janke
http://stevejanke.com/