The Trouble With Nigel Wright: A Q&A

Can the PMO's new chief of staff rise above accusations of conflict of interest and help make Parliament work?

Nigel Wright, Managing Director of Onex Corp., recently replaced Guy Giorno as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, sparking a debate over whether his business ties constitute a conflict of interest. In an interview with The Mark, Liberal MP Wayne Easter elaborates on why he believes Mr. Wright's business interests are fair game for public scrutiny.

The Mark: Do you think the Canadian public has a right to know of any potential conflicts of interest that may arise out of Nigel Wright's business interests?

Wayne Easter: Well the Canadian public definitely has a right to know. Nigel Wright will really be the second most powerful in the land. He will be chief of staff to the Prime Minister. Any file that affects the Canadian government, and really the Canadian economy, could potentially and really should go across his desk. And so it’s important to know that there will be neither conflicts of interest nor perceived conflicts of interest that relate to that very, very powerful position in the country.

TM: Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson says that, while Wright will be screened for conflicts of interest on an ongoing basis, she doesn't expect his business interests to be a problem. Are you satisfied with her response to calls from the Liberal Party to investigate the ethics of his appointment?

WE: Well, we’ve certainly heard what she had to say. As you’re well aware, we put a motion forward to the Ethics Committee that Nigel Wright be brought before the Committee so that parliamentarians themselves can see firsthand that the rules are indeed being abided by. You have to keep in mind that Mr. Wright is a very able businessman and that’s a good thing. He knows the business side of Canadian industries but he also has connections to businesses that are involved in defence, in energy, and in many other areas. We know the government has progressed with an untendered contract costing $16B for aircraft. We know there’s also a connection there to some of the companies that Mr. Wright has been with, so we need to ensure that there’s not going to be special favour given to those companies as a result of those past connections. It’s interesting the kind of rules that apply to people that have been in the public service and politicians when they leave government. You’re not allowed to lobby the government for years. And it’s been made clear to us, and the Canadian public, that Mr. Wright is really only in temporary leave from the companies that he’s been with for an 18- to 24-month period.

TM: John Baird has pointed to past Liberals who continued to have business interests while governing, such as Paul Martin and Belinda Stronach. How is the case of Nigel Wright different from the others?

WE: Well first of all, the business interests of Mr. Wright are much more immense and connected to various industries than either of the other two that you mentioned. Belinda Stronach was certainly connected to the auto industry and it was relatively easy for her to exempt herself from those discussions around the cabinet table. For Mr. Martin it was a little bit more difficult in terms of his steamship lines interests. I know from having been there how careful one had to be. One of my colleagues the other day mentioned several departments that Mr. Wright would not be able to be involved with, given his connections. Will he really be able to do his job if he’s going to have to excuse himself from all those many files? That’s a concern about his ability to do his job as chief of staff with all of the connections that he has.

TM: What will be Mr. Wright's biggest challenges as he takes on this new position with the PMO?

WE: Well I think his biggest challenge will be trying to establish, or have the Prime Minister establish, a rapport with Parliament and indeed with the global community. The loss of the United Nations seat on the Security Council was the first loss in our history and I think it shows that the government has become a kind of radical right government with some policies not unlike those George Bush fostered and which made the United States look like it was in an extreme position and that’s a very different position for Canada to be in. We’ve always been seen as the neutral middle, as peacekeepers, as a country that you could go to for some middle ground that could confine the compromises between the United States and other countries around the world. So he has to overcome that attitude toward Canada now and he has to try and encourage the Prime Minister to work with Parliament and all parties and make democracy in Canada work under a minority government. Everybody can’t be the enemy of Stephen Harper and that’s the way he’s operated. So he has a huge challenge there in trying to get the place functioning again.