better hope that POS churchill doesn't hear bout this...
Posted on 11/25/2005 2:17:25 PM PST by proud American in Canada
Pontiac MP faces multiple questions on federal contracts
Posted 11.25.05
On November 14, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre sent a letter to Parliamentary Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro requesting an inquiry to investigate conflict of interest allegations facing Pontiac MP David Smith. "Residents of Pontiac deserve explanations about their MP," Poilievre says.
Smith has called for a confidential opinion from the ethics commissioner, not a public inquiry. "The report will be coming out within a week or so," he says; "Mr. Poilievre's request only delays its completion." Poilievre is dissatisfied with this response, however, stating, "If the Liberals think they can slide out of this by a procedural manœuvre, they're mistaken."
Smith's company, computer consulting firm Abotech, received substantial contracts from the federal Public Works and Government Services ministry. For example, according to the Public Accounts of Canada annual report, the firm received almosy a half-million dollars in 2004 for government contracts for "other" services. In October, The Globe and Mail reported that auditing firm KPMG found irregularities in $1 million of such contracts awarded to the company, of which Smith was the president at the time. The federal government has so far declined to make the contents of the KPMG audit public. Mr Smith says he transferred ownership of the company to his wife and severed all ties with the company indecember, 2004; however, he was still listed as president, responsible for government relations, last April (2005) in government records (strategis.gc.ca). Curiously, Mr Smith's e-address in these government records was not through his company as is usual but via a common carrier, videotron.
Frank Brazeau's role
One issue on which Polieviere wants to shed light is Smith's relationship to Frank Brazeau. Brazeau was a contracts officer at Consulting and Audit Canada, who was disciplined by the government, according to Public Works Minister Scott Brison, after his performance came under the scrutiny of auditors at KPMG. According to an Indian and Northern Affairs (INA) website last updated in 2004, Brazeau was a contact for the INA's Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business initiative (PSAB). Once a company is designated aboriginal, it qualifies for the PSAB and is then eligible for contract set-asides and other benefits.
The unemployed Brazeau has since become the secretary of the Liberal Association of Pontiac. According to Poilievre, Association President Luc Martel has confirmed that Brazeau's election occurred after the 2004 federal election in which Smith first entered the House of Commons.
There is also a claim that Brazeau and Smith are cousins. According to a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Band near Maniwaki, "Smith and Brazeau are related on their mother's side, both of whom are French-Quebecers. Smith's mother, Suzanne Clément Smith, and Brazeau's grandmother, Thélorese Clement Fournier, were sisters." The band member wishes to remain anonymous.
Who is the aboriginal?
Though he declined to comment on whether or not he is connected by family to Brazeau, Smith maintains his innocence. "When I heard about the allegations in the Globe and Mail, I immediately asked Dr. Shapiro review them," he says. He also points out that the same ethics commissioner signed off on his family's declaration of conflict of interest reports in December, 2004, he says, "Within a week or so, when this report will be out, people will see that I have always been very honest and transparent in my dealings."
Stating that he is a "Métis, a non-status aboriginal," Smith has confirmed that Abotech was registered with the federal government as an aboriginal company. According to INA, a company must be more than half-owned and controlled by status Indians, Inuit and Métis and have a workforce that is one-third aboriginal to qualify for the PSAB program.
Smith's aboriginal origins are not clear. Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Band, outside Smith's home town of Maniwaki, told the Post Smith "is not a member of this band and never has been. He must be a self-declared Metis. There are a lot of those." According to the Chief, one way to achieve aboriginal status is through organizations like the National Alliance of Quebec, which permits those seeking status to apply to the organization if that person "self-identifies" as an aboriginal person and takes "pride" in that status. The Chief is wary of such organizations, pointing out that there is a great deal of evidence of fraudulent use of such status claims.
Furthermore, Smith's high school teacher, Don Corkery, told The Post that at the time, the government paid for native students' books. "The teachers had a list of students who qualified as aboriginals," Corkery says, "but David was never on it." Corkery notes, however, that at the time, aboriginal women who married non-status men lost their aboriginal status and could therefore not pass it along to their children. This situation was remedied with the 1985 Indian Act. The Post was unable to confirm the status of 40-year-old Smith's parents.
However, according to the anonymous band member, Smith's mother is not an aboriginal. "Smith's mother is a French-Quebecer," the band member told the media. This person maintains that Smith is not an aboriginal, saying, "Brazeau is from our reserve and is an aboriginal. Smith is from Maniwaki but is not an aboriginal."
The Post was unable to confirm at press time whether or not Abotech is still registered as an aboriginal company and whether or not Smith's wife, who now holds a majority interest, is of aboriginal origin. A federal government spokesperson has told The Post that it has no list of aboriginal companies, despite Indian and Northern Affairs program to aid aboriginal businesses. Abotech, a computer company, does not have a website. (With reports from Stephen Janke)
No, it was up to a blogger, who is credited in this story. He's done outstanding work over at www.angrygwn.mu.nu. -- "Angry in the Great White North"
So here we have a situation where a person can self-declare as an aboriginal, then immediately qualifies for the millions of dollars the Canadian government hands over to aboriginal companies in contracts, set asides and other benefits.
Conveniently, the person in charge of handing out this money would appear to be the cousin of the purported aboriginal man and Liberal Member of Parliament, David Smith.
A very excited Canada ping!
I had to wait until they got my story up on the West Quebec website.
Hi, backhoe,
Do you think you could post this story at Free Dominion for me?
I have tried to sign up there and for some reason I have had so much trouble. I don't undersand it, it's like it doesn't remember my computer and then it won't let me log in.
I told you I recently got a job with a local paper.
Well, with the help of a Canadian blogger, we've scooped the Ottawa dailies!
This is huge.
Does doing it in your pajams count in Canada?
BTW Congrats!
LOL! If it doesn't now, it will soon. :)
And thank you... :) I have been so excited all week--I didn't even want to HEAR the word aboriginal until today. :)
Yes, I'm trying (again) to sign up over there. I think people will enjoy this story.
I'm still at work so maybe it will work from this pc.
Well, I won't have an email address at work until Monday, so I can't register at FD right now.
Perhaps some kind soul lurking or freeping who is a member of FD could post it for me?
If not I'll keep trying over the weekend.
Okay, I can see that the original title is not really capturing people's attention, which is understandable, given that people are thinking "What's Pontiac MP?" :)
I should have inserted a commentary in parentheses, so people understand what this means (the Liberal government will probably fall on Monday, an election will be held within weeks, and this story could lead to the Liberals losing a seat).
Would you please add this to the title:
(Canada's Liberals in big trouble alert)
I would really appreciate it...
Be glad to- just let me check to be sure it's not a duplicate.
If you are sure your cookies are enabled and still can't get on, you can email the sysop here- her FR handle is conniew
and see if she can figure out the problem.
Thank you so much. :)
Here you are:
http://www.freedominion.ca/phpBB2/posting.php
better hope that POS churchill doesn't hear bout this...
A couple of things you might try- clear the "temp internet" files cache, look for cookies you don't recognize ( burstnet, anything with "click," like fastclick in the name, or "hit" anything ) and get rid of them. An honest cookie usually has the site name plainly in the title, like freerepublic or freedominion.
A very good online malware scanner, that covers viruses, trojans, spyware, and security holes is here:
http://housecall-beta.trendmicro.com/en/start_corp.asp
Another:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan.htm
Canada Ping!!!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Thanks, eh!
Great post much appreciated.
Many thanks--I'm going over there now. :)
Thank you!
I am starting to realize that journalism isn't a job, it's a way of life. :)
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