Boissonnault cleared in preliminary ethics probe of his business dealings

Canada's ethics commissioner will not be investigating claims that Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault broke conflict of interest rules and a preliminary probe turned up no evidence the minister acted improperly, according to a letter obtained by CBC News.

«I no longer have concerns that you may have contravened your obligations under the Act and will take no further action at this time,» says the June 25 letter from Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein to Boissonnault.

Boissonnault faced questions after Global News published September 2022 text messages between the employment minister's former business partner at Global Health Imports (GHI), Stephen Anderson, and Malvina Ghaoui, the principal of the U.S.-based company The Ghaoui Group.

Boissonnault co-founded the PPE company GHI and currently holds shares in GHI through his holding company. Cabinet ministers are not allowed to engage in managing or operating a business or commercial activity.

The texts referred to the involvement of someone named «Randy» in a discussion about a wire transfer of roughly $500,000 to secure a large shipment of nitrile gloves.

That led to near-daily questioning from the Conservatives about the identity of the «other Randy» — and whether Boissonnault had broken the law by being involved in the daily operations of the company more than ten months after being sworn in to cabinet.

Boissonnault denied the allegations, telling the House of Commons in June that he has «had no role in this company since being elected in 2021.»

He also told the ethics committee that he didn't know the last name of the other Randy.

«That person is not me,» he said.

'No evidence' to support allegations, commissioner says

But the letter from the commissioner says that