From Firstperspective.ca
APTN 'shocked' by PMO's swift response to Carson story
By JESSICA BRUNO, JAN NITOSLAWSKI - March 19, 2011
Former PMO adviser Bruce Carson, has been accused of alleged influence peddling. The PMO has called in the RCMP, and the ethics and lobbying commissioners.
The Prime Minister's Office caught APTN off guard when it took their allegations in a story of illegal lobbying by Bruce Carson, a former senior adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper straight to the RCMP on March 16, says APTN executive producer Paul Barnsley.
"The PMO shocked us with the move yesterday to call in the RCMP," Mr. Beardsley said in an email to The Hill Times on March 17, a day after the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network broke the sensational story on their website, and in response to a request for an interview on how the network broke the story.
The two journalists, freelancer Kenneth Jackson and APTN's Jorge Barrera, had invited PMO representatives to examine and comment on a document hat alleged Mr. Carson promised First Nations bands and companies access to Prime Minister Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) in exchange for money. The report alleged that Mr. Carson lobbied the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan (Vancouver Island North, B.C.) for an Ottawa based water company to get contracts for water purification systems through Indian Affairs.
The PMO denied the allegations and responded swiftly to the story. It called in the RCMP and it asked the commissioners of ethics and lobbying to investigate.
"These materials contain troubling details about recent action and claims made by Mr. Bruce Carson, a former employee of the Prime Minister's Office," Raymond Novak, principal secretary to the prime minister, wrote in a statement released to the APTN.
The PMO's move forced the APTN to tip its hand more than a week ahead of its scheduled March 25 air date, Mr. Barnsley said.
"We knew instantly that would start a media feeding frenzy, so we rushed our very first general story on the PMO move to air," Mr. Barnsley said.
Mr. Duncan's office told The Canadian Press that Mr. Duncan had not met with Mr. Duncan, but the he had met a staff member once.
"Mr. Carson briefed the staff on the proposed water project," Michelle Yao said in an email to The Canadian Press. "Staff provided publicly available information to Bruce Carson and recommended he work directly with First Nations."
The PMO distanced itself from Mr. Carson.
"As I've said, the Prime Minister has never met with, been spoken to or been lobbied by Bruce Carson on any of these matters. Our government strengthened Canadian laws with the toughest anti-corruption legislation, the Federal Accountability Act, including a ban on lobbying for five years by former political staff," said PMO press secretary Sara MacIntyre in an email to The Hill Times.
"The laws are clear and they must be respected. Those who do not respect them must and should face the full force of the law as well as the consequences that come with it," Ms. MacIntrye continued. "Upon being informed of these allegations by APTN, we have referred them to the RCMP commissioner, the ethics commissioner and the lobbying commissioner. Given what we've learned about Bruce Carson, our government will not be in communication with him on any matter. Furthermore, the ethics commissioner was fully consulted at the time of his departure from the Prime Minister's office and signed off on his employment at the Canada School of Energy and Environment."
The team's first report aired on APTN National News March 17 and alleged that Mr. Carson promised executives from Ottawa-based filtration company H20 Pros that he would use his influence with the PM and Cabinet ministers to help secure contracts for on-reserve water-filtration systems with Indian Affairs.
Mr. Carson's fiancée Michele McPhail, a 22-year old former escort, signed a contract with H20 Pros dated Aug. 31, 2010, that named her the "exclusive agent" of an H20 Pros "to develop a continuing relationship with First Nations in order to set up a pilot project to showcase water purification products and sell water purification products to First Nations."
Mr. Carson told APTN reporters that he was a witness to the contract's signing.
Experienced in both federal and provincial politics, Mr. Carson has been involved in politics since the days of prime minister Joe Clark. When Mr. Harper was opposition leader he served as his director of research. When the Conservatives moved into government he was in the PMO until after the 2008 federal election.
Mr. Carson then left the government briefly to work on the mandate of the Canada School of Energy and the Environment, where he is currently the executive director. The government gave the school, which is a collaboration between the universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge, a $15-million grant in the 2007 budget. It has a funding agreement with Industry Canada that lasts until 2014.
In January 2009, Mr. Carson returned to politics on a leave of absence from the school to work as the director of policy and research at the PMO.
In an email to H20 principal Patrick Hill obtained by the APTN, dated Aug. 6, 2010, Mr. Carson also states that the then-forthcoming Cabinet shuffle—scheduled for later that day—would see Conservative MP John Duncan (Vancouver Island North, B.C.) replace Chuck Strahl (Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, B.C.).
"I spoke with the PM last [night] and with [Assembly of First Nations national Chief Shawn] Atleo—the movement of John Duncan to INAC does not slow anything down," wrote Mr. Carson.
In an interview with the APTN, Mr. Carson said his original email "wasn't the truth," but rather he spoke to "someone else" about the shuffle. He also said that he did not register as a lobbyist because he doesn't lobby.
The APTN obtained documents showing that Mr. Carson had met with Indian Affairs bureaucrats about First Nations water quality, but whether that may have been in his capacity as the executive director of the school is unclear.
Calls to Mr. Carson for comment were not returned last week.
"This is one of the top five people around Harper, and has been one of his confidants for the last decade. It speaks volumes about this man's judgment, and people will draw their own judgment about the company that Mr. Harper keeps," said House Opposition Leader David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Ont.).
In 1982, Mr. Carson pled guilty to defrauding his legal clients. He was disbarred and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Mr. Carson's past legal history was public knowledge when he worked on the Hill.
As for the recent allegations of lobbying, the Prime Minister's response was the most politically expedient one, according to NDP Whip Yvon Godin (Acadie-Bathurst, N.B.).
"All of a sudden, when they realized that this was coming to light, they called the RCMP," said Mr. Godin.
Referring the matter to the RCMP was the appropriate next step is an example of the Prime Minister "adhering" to the principles of the Federal Accountability Act, said Tory MP Tom Lukiwski (Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre, Sask.) the Parliamentary Secretary to Government House Leader John Baird (Ottawa West-Nepean, Ont.).
"There is a certain ban on lobbying for five years from certain staffers, of which Mr. Carson was one. If he has violated that rule, then we can take the appropriate action," he added.
Mr. Lukiwski said he first met Mr. Carson in 2004. Over the years, he did not have much contact with Mr. Carson, but generally found him to be "professional and helpful."
The Assembly of First Nations estimates that 75,000 aboriginal people in Canada do not have access to clean drinking water.
bNational Chief Shawn Atleo, who was mentioned in one of Mr. Carson's emails, has said that while Mr. Carson approached him about H20 Pro's water filtration system, he was one of many water companies to do so, and he never agreed to promote the company to First Nations communities.
According to the Forum for Leadership on Water, which is made up of independent Canadian water experts, there are 49 drinking water systems with a high risk of failure in First Nations Communities.
H20 Pros planned to sell more than 40,000 water filtration units to 50 aboriginal communities in need, according to the APTN report.
Mr. Carson told the APTN that the units cost from $3,500 to $6,000 each, though the reporters now estimate the cost of the units to be closer to $10,000.
Ms. McPhail stood to make 20 per cent of the gross revenues from the sale of the water filtration systems, according to the agreement obtained by the APTN.
Mr. Lukiwski said he would not comment on whether Mr. Carson's alleged actions could have helped leverage the challenges First Nations communities face with respect to water quality to H20 Pro's—and ultimately his own—advantage.
"I'm not going to comment on allegations because that's all they are at this point in time," he said.
The Canadian government spent nearly $4-billion between 1995 and 2008 on First Nations drinking water and waste water systems, according to a report by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development.
"The people of northern communities and aboriginal peoples have enough of a hard time. People should not make money on them. We should be able as a country to help those people, and help them be a part of Canada," said Mr. Godin.
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From APTN.ca
By Kenneth Jackson and Jorge Barrera - 16. Mar, 2011
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has asked the RCMP to investigate the activities of one of his longest serving advisors, APTN National News has learned.
Harper’s office sent a letter to RCMP Commissioner William Elliot Wednesday asking him to probe the activities of Bruce Carson after the Prime Minister’s Office received information as part of an APTN investigation into Carson’s activities.
Correspondence obtained by APTN shows Carson lobbied Indian Affairs and Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan’s office on behalf of an Ottawa-based water company. The water company was attempting to land contracts to sell water filtration systems to First Nations reserves with severe water-quality problems.
The full details of the story will be aired next week by APTN Investigates.
Carson also claimed in an email, obtained by APTN to have spoken to the prime minister about the appointment of Duncan the day before the B.C. MP was named to the Indian Affairs portfolio in the Aug. 6 cabinet shuffle.
“Yesterday afternoon our office became aware of the existence of materials in the possession of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network,” wrote Raymond Novak, the prime minister’s principal secretary. “These materials contain troubling details about recent actions and claims made by Mr. Bruce Carson, a former employee of the Prime Minister’s Office.”
Novak also wrote the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying asking for an investigation into Carson’s activities.
In the letter to the Ethics commissioner, Novak wrote that the information shown the PMO “may provide evidence” of Carson having breached two sections of the Conflict of Interest Act.
“Our brief examination provides us with reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Carson may be in contravention of the Act,” wrote Novak. “It appears Carson may have attempted to take advantage of his previous position in the Prime Minister’s Office to advance his own private interests, and may have given advice to individuals or organizations using information that was obtained in his capacity as an employee of our office.”
Carson is currently the head of the Canada School of Energy and Environment, which received $15 million in federal government funding.
Carson also chairs the Federal-Provincial-Oil and Gas Industry Working Group on Climate Change and is a member of the Thermal Electricity Task Force on Climate Change.
Carson was a senior policy advisor to the prime minister until 2008. He also worked for Harper as a director of research while the Conservatives were in opposition.
In one email, obtained by APTN, Carson wrote two officials with the company, H2O Pros, claiming he had spoken with the prime minister on Aug. 5 about the pending appointment of Duncan to the Indian Affairs portfolio.
“I spoke with the PM last nite and with (Assembly of First Nations national Chief Shawn) Atleo-the movement of John Duncan to INAC does not slow anything down (sic),” wrote Carson, in an email dated Aug. 6 and received at 7:01 a.m. “Both Shawn and I know John very well-and I will be calling the new Minister this morning-so it is still full steam ahead.”
Carson told APTN on camera that he lied in the email, but that he had spoken to “someone,” but did not elaborate.
Carson was disbarred and jailed in the 1980s for defrauding law clients.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying the prime minister has never “spoken or been lobbied by Bruce Carson on any of these matters.”
The PMO also said that the “Ethics Commissioner was fully consulted at the time of his departure from the Prime Minister’s Office and signed off on his employment at the Canada School of Energy and Environment.”
The statement also referred to the five year ban on lobbying by former political staff.
“The laws are clear and they must be respected. Those who do not respect them must and should face the full force of the law,” said the statement.
Liberal MP David McGuinty said the prime minister needed to come clean in his relationship with Carson.
“These are very deeply, deeply troubling allegations,” said McGuinty. “This is a story that has to be examined very closely and the prime minister how has to explain his relationship with Carson.”
Winnipeg NDP MP Pat Martin said once the full details of the Carson affair surfaces it could topple the Conservatives.
“This is the kind of thing that brings governments down,” said Martin. “Bruce Carson has been a fixture around Ottawa for as long as I can remember in the office of the Official Opposition in the PMO this is a major backroom boy.”
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From thechronicleherald.ca
Harper’s former senior aide risked all for love of an escort
By STEPHEN MAHER - Mar 20
At 66, Bruce Carson fell head over heels in love with a 22-year-old escort, which led him to make moves that destroyed his career, brought him under RCMP investigation and caused a nightmarish scandal for the government led by his friend, Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Carson’s friends in Conservative circles in Ottawa describe him as a capable, charming, down-to-earth man who had remade his reputation at senior levels of government after being disbarred and convicted in 1980 of defrauding clients of $20,000.
He worked closely with Harper for years on some of the government’s most challenging files, winning praise from insiders for his skill, for example, in helping settle the Atlantic accord dispute between Nova Scotia and the federal government.
Several sources closely connected with the drama say Carson fell hard for Michelle McPherson, a bright and beautiful escort 44 years his junior. He bought her a $100,000 Mercedes SUV, a $389,500 house, proposed and introduced her to top politicians, including former industry minister Jim Prentice, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Shawn Atleo, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
Carson left the prime minister’s office in February 2009 to take a job in Calgary as the first executive director of the Canada School of Energy and the Environment, which received $15 million from the Harper government.
Carson became involved with McPherson last summer. She had been working as a prostitute since the age of 13, when she started turning tricks for cigarettes and junk food, according to an interview she gave the Ottawa Citizen years ago.
On her website, she called herself Leanna VIP.
"I’m 20 years old," she advertised. "I have long blonde hair and magical blue eyes. I stand at five-foot-six and weigh in at 124 pounds. I have impeccable manners, grace and charm. My philosophy of pleasure is to tease and seduce you and make a special connection between us."
Dozens of reviews on websites where johns share notes on prostitutes make it plain that she was engaged in sex work. Her customers praised her for charm as well as for skills in the bedroom.
Last year, McPherson started working for H20 Pros, an Ottawa water filtration firm headed by Patrick Hill. The firm was seeking to land big federal contracts to install water filters in homes on First Nations communities with bad water.
Sources say McPherson was introduced to Hill by another employee, who she knew from the escort business. She introduced Hill to Carson, and also to her mother, Catherine McPherson, who went to work for the firm.
Hill flew Carson to Saskatchewan to look at the factory where water filtration units were put together, but there is no evidence that Carson accepted money from the company.
On Aug. 31, 2010, though, McPherson signed a contract with H20, witnessed by Carson, that was to grant her a 20 per cent cut of any sales to First Nations, a document uncovered by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
Federal contracting rules forbid such commission deals.
On Sept. 27, Carson took her out for drinks at Hy’s, an Ottawa martini bar, where she met Stelmach, Prentice, former human resources minster Monte Solberg and Geoff Norquay, former director of communications to Harper. He also took her for dinner with Atleo and his wife on Valentine’s Day.
Rules brought in by Harper restrict public office holders like Carson from lobbying government officials on behalf of clients for five years, but he met officials in the Indian Affairs department four times between September 2010 and January 2011, The Canadian Press has reported.
And emails obtained by The Chronicle Herald show Carson made a direct sales pitch to Lysane Bolduc, senior infrastructure engineer in the infrastructure operations directorate at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Carson called Bolduc early on the morning of Feb. 17 to discuss the proposal.
She emailed him at 6:39 a.m.: "Items discussed this morning include your raising of H20 Pro’s desire to install between 50 and 100 point-of-entry drinking water systems in the Mohawk Bay of Quinte community."
She sent copies of the email to four officials directly involved with funding decisions.
He replied to all the officials: "As set out in this email, one method to move forward on this matter could be for the Mohawks of Bay of Quinte to pass a band council resolution."
The Mohawk band near Bellville, Ont., is under a permanent boil order, so they were receptive to the pitch from H20, which would have placed water purification units, costing $3,600 each, in homes with bad water.
In an Oct. 14 letter to the band council, Hill said that if the Mohawks passed a resolution, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs would pay.
"Should you decide to participate in our water treatment and purification program, you and your community will benefit from this project, which will be completely funded by (the department)," he said.
The council, which found the pitch irregular, checked with the department last week, before the story broke.
"I was very concerned that there was name dropping to get the council to buy into it," said Chief Donald Maracle.
Sources say Hill told business associates that Carson was going to help him get access to part of $350 million budgeted for First Nations water improvements.
Hill, Carson and McPherson have not spoken to reporters since the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network broke the story last week.
Harper’s office has called in the RCMP to investigate the allegations of improper dealings.
