Liberal MP Pam Damoff (Oakville North-Burlington, ON) acknowledged that she had discussed a Farm bill in the House of Commons with a Liberal Party donor before lobbying against the legislation on the company's behalf.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Earth Fresh Farms Inc. executives in Burlington did not respond to the questions.“Just for context for members who were asking about your coming last minute, you and I met several months ago about this bill,” Damoff told a June 19 hearing of the Commons Agriculture committee. “You did want to come so that you could express to other parties and other members your concerns with the bill.”Damoff and Brad Wiseman, who is both a Liberal donor and the chief financial officer of Earth Fresh, appeared at the same hearing. Earth Fresh was against Bill C-280 An Act to Amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.Damoff identified Earth Fresh as a potato packer in her riding. She did not disclose Wiseman and another Earth Fresh executive donated $1,670 to Damoff’s Burlington Liberal Association.Members of the Liberal Party on the Agriculture committee did not disclose who added the Earth Fresh executive to the list of witnesses for Bill C-280. Earth Fresh was the sole witness to oppose the bill and Damoff was the only member of the House of Commons to vote against the bill during its Third Reading.The bill is designed to protect farmers from incurring losses when they deliver fresh produce to wholesalers that go bankrupt. However, Earth Fresh's Wiseman expressed concerns that the bill would result in financial losses for his company. According to records, Earth Fresh has received $2.1 million in federal subsidies since 2017.“There is a lot of uncertainty around this legislation,” testified Wiseman. “We have to get clear guidance from the banks on how they will interpret it.”Transcripts revealed that Damoff asked 10 questions during the committee hearing and all appeared to favour Earth Fresh's position.“I want to make sure we’re not doing something good but at the same time harming a company like Earth Fresh because we haven’t received all the information we need,” said Damoff.Neither Damoff nor Wiseman would say anything when questioned about whether they planned to appear together at the Agriculture committee meeting on June 19. At that time, Damoff served as the parliamentary secretary for public safety and stepped in for another member during the June 19 hearing.The Conflict of Interest Act Section 6.2 states “No parliamentary secretary shall in his or her capacity as a member of the House of Commons debate or vote on a question that would place him or her in a conflict of interest.” Section 7 states no parliamentary secretary “shall in the exercise of an official power, duty or function give preferential treatment to any person or organization based on the identity of the person or organization.”
