On Wednesday, Democracy Watch released an open letter it sent to Interim Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein calling on him to disclose his assets and liabilities.Additionally it called on him to disclose his consulting clients and all the communications and records of communications he had with the Prime Minister’s Office and Privy Council Office during the appointment process for his six-month term that began last September.In a press release, Democracy Watch also asked that MPs on the House Ethics Committee call von Finckenstein back very soon to testify about his "negligently bad" enforcement record and his appointment process before his current term ends on February 29 and to reject any attempt by the Trudeau Cabinet to re-appoint him for another six-month term or a seven-year term.Von Finckenstein, who has aristocratic lineage, has an active website to consult and arbitrate for big businesses and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute. Democracy Watch called the institute "a big business lobby group" based on the composition of its Board of Directors, something Democracy Watch alleged "can create clear conflicts of interest" for von Finckenstein as Interim Ethics Commissioner. Democracy Watch says the Interim Commissioner was required by December 31 2023 to disclose a public summary of his assets and liabilities in the Public Registry under the Conflict of Interest Act (s. 2 “public office holder” and “reporting public office holder”, ss. 25-26, s. 62.2, and the related cabinet order), but that there is no listing for him in the Public Registry.The Trudeau Cabinet has delayed disclosure on communication records that show how they chose von Finckenstein and details on how many qualified candidates have applied to be Ethics Commissioner since a search began in April 2023. Von Finckenstein did not apply to be appointed for a seven-year term by the May 23, 2023 deadline, and Democracy Watch alleges it would violate the rules to appoint him to a permanent post.Von Finckenstein did not find fault in eight ethics complaints, including one about Prime Minister Trudeau and created six new loopholes in federal ethics laws to add to the ten loopholes in the MP Code and the ten loopholes in the Conflict of Interest Act.Democracy Watch characterized the six new loopholes as follows:Cabinet staff, Cabinet appointees and top government officials can secretly now own up to $60,000 in shares in businesses they make decisions about.Members of the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) can secretly invest in energy companies.The prime minister can now appoint anyone to any government position, even family members and friends (such as David Johnston) even when they are investigating wrongdoing by the PM;Cabinet ministers and top government officials can participate in a decision-making process even if their spouses have significant financial interests that will be affected by the decision.Cabinet staff and top government officials can leave their position and move to another position in the government or take a contract with the government, without any cooling-off period, even if the position conflicts with the past position.Von Finckenstein has decided not to investigate ethics complaints about a former MP because they are no longer in office, possibly setting a precedent that MPs won't be found guilty of violations if they resign, retire or are defeated before the investigation concludes.Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher was adamant that von Finckenstein not be re-appointed, given his enforcement record and affiliations and alleged that those he would investigate would be "let off every time."“Canadians can only hope that opposition parties do the right thing and stop Prime Minister Trudeau from once again, as he did in 2017, appointing his own ethics lapdog after handpicking him through a secret, partisan, cabinet-controlled process," Conacher said.The Western Standard contacted the Office of the Ethics Commissioner for comment, but did not receive a reply before this article was submitted.In 2022, Von Finckenstein was a vocal critic of the government's internet bill C-11. His online profile as a board member at Carleton University says he was chief counsel to the Canada-US free trade negotiations."As the chief commercial counsel of the Canadian Government he led the legal team negotiating inter alia, the bail outs of Chrysler and Massey Ferguson, the establishment of a Bell Helicopter assembly plant for all its civilian copters in Canada, the privatization of Canadiar and DeHavilland," the site explains."He was the Commissioner (CEO) of the Competition Bureau for seven years. During his tenure the Bureau examined the merger of four of Canada’s leading banks (ultimately blocking them) collected the largest fine in Canadian criminal history for price collusion. He also reviewed and approved the merger between Air Canada and Canadian Airlines ensuring that the merger would not lead to a monopoly in the skies."
On Wednesday, Democracy Watch released an open letter it sent to Interim Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein calling on him to disclose his assets and liabilities.Additionally it called on him to disclose his consulting clients and all the communications and records of communications he had with the Prime Minister’s Office and Privy Council Office during the appointment process for his six-month term that began last September.In a press release, Democracy Watch also asked that MPs on the House Ethics Committee call von Finckenstein back very soon to testify about his "negligently bad" enforcement record and his appointment process before his current term ends on February 29 and to reject any attempt by the Trudeau Cabinet to re-appoint him for another six-month term or a seven-year term.Von Finckenstein, who has aristocratic lineage, has an active website to consult and arbitrate for big businesses and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute. Democracy Watch called the institute "a big business lobby group" based on the composition of its Board of Directors, something Democracy Watch alleged "can create clear conflicts of interest" for von Finckenstein as Interim Ethics Commissioner. Democracy Watch says the Interim Commissioner was required by December 31 2023 to disclose a public summary of his assets and liabilities in the Public Registry under the Conflict of Interest Act (s. 2 “public office holder” and “reporting public office holder”, ss. 25-26, s. 62.2, and the related cabinet order), but that there is no listing for him in the Public Registry.The Trudeau Cabinet has delayed disclosure on communication records that show how they chose von Finckenstein and details on how many qualified candidates have applied to be Ethics Commissioner since a search began in April 2023. Von Finckenstein did not apply to be appointed for a seven-year term by the May 23, 2023 deadline, and Democracy Watch alleges it would violate the rules to appoint him to a permanent post.Von Finckenstein did not find fault in eight ethics complaints, including one about Prime Minister Trudeau and created six new loopholes in federal ethics laws to add to the ten loopholes in the MP Code and the ten loopholes in the Conflict of Interest Act.Democracy Watch characterized the six new loopholes as follows:Cabinet staff, Cabinet appointees and top government officials can secretly now own up to $60,000 in shares in businesses they make decisions about.Members of the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) can secretly invest in energy companies.The prime minister can now appoint anyone to any government position, even family members and friends (such as David Johnston) even when they are investigating wrongdoing by the PM;Cabinet ministers and top government officials can participate in a decision-making process even if their spouses have significant financial interests that will be affected by the decision.Cabinet staff and top government officials can leave their position and move to another position in the government or take a contract with the government, without any cooling-off period, even if the position conflicts with the past position.Von Finckenstein has decided not to investigate ethics complaints about a former MP because they are no longer in office, possibly setting a precedent that MPs won't be found guilty of violations if they resign, retire or are defeated before the investigation concludes.Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher was adamant that von Finckenstein not be re-appointed, given his enforcement record and affiliations and alleged that those he would investigate would be "let off every time."“Canadians can only hope that opposition parties do the right thing and stop Prime Minister Trudeau from once again, as he did in 2017, appointing his own ethics lapdog after handpicking him through a secret, partisan, cabinet-controlled process," Conacher said.The Western Standard contacted the Office of the Ethics Commissioner for comment, but did not receive a reply before this article was submitted.In 2022, Von Finckenstein was a vocal critic of the government's internet bill C-11. His online profile as a board member at Carleton University says he was chief counsel to the Canada-US free trade negotiations."As the chief commercial counsel of the Canadian Government he led the legal team negotiating inter alia, the bail outs of Chrysler and Massey Ferguson, the establishment of a Bell Helicopter assembly plant for all its civilian copters in Canada, the privatization of Canadiar and DeHavilland," the site explains."He was the Commissioner (CEO) of the Competition Bureau for seven years. During his tenure the Bureau examined the merger of four of Canada’s leading banks (ultimately blocking them) collected the largest fine in Canadian criminal history for price collusion. He also reviewed and approved the merger between Air Canada and Canadian Airlines ensuring that the merger would not lead to a monopoly in the skies."
