Mr. Speaker, who is Randy? That is the central question before the House as a result of the Speaker's ruling that found a prima facie question of privilege after the Minister of Employment's business partner Stephen Anderson refused to disclose to the ethics committee who Randy is.
The ethics committee's probe into Randy began when Global News reported that the Minister of Employment was involved in a shady PPE company called Global Health Imports with Stephen Anderson. According to Global News, the minister had been a partner at Global Health Imports along with Stephen Anderson up until the time he had been elected in 2021, and that he continued to maintain a 50% ownership stake with Anderson.
Global News reported that the company was mired in allegations of fraud and ripping off clients. Indeed, multiple judgments have been issued against the minister's company by Alberta courts, which have ordered the minister's company to pay back clients $7.8 million for ripping them off.
Global Health Imports faces a litany of other lawsuits, including a lawsuit commenced by California-based company the Ghaoui Group. The Ghaoui Group, like other clients of the minister's company, purchased PPE. The PPE was never delivered, but the Ghaoui Group was on the hook for half a million dollars, having transferred a half-a-million-dollar deposit to the minister's company.
One of the excuses provided by Stephen Anderson for the failure to deliver PPE was that the Global Health Imports warehouse burned down; amazingly, it was two weeks after Global Health Imports received the half a million dollars. Anderson was then reported to have told the Ghaoui Group that once it collected the insurance money, maybe then he would be in a position to repay the half-a-million-dollar deposit. The Edmonton police, in their investigation of the fire, concluded that in all likelihood it was arson, just by coincidence.
A minister is involved in a shady company mired in allegations of fraud and ordered by Alberta courts to pay back clients $7.8 million. There are allegations or evidence of potential arson and insurance fraud. I would submit that this alone ought to have been enough for the Prime Minister to tell the Minister of Employment that he is fired, that he is out of cabinet.
However, there is more. Global News reported that someone named Randy connected with Global Health Imports was involved in shaking down the Ghaoui Group for the half-a-million-dollar deposit. That was evidenced in text messages. Among the text messages that Global News uncovered was a message from Stephen Anderson to the Ghaoui Group, leading up to the shakedown, in which he says, “What is going on? I just received this from Randy!”
He then copied and pasted the message he had received from Randy, which states, “Anderson, it's 13:14 MST and 15:14 EST it literally takes 10 seconds to complete a transfer, I am telling you we are not allocating like this...it's midday and nothing is completed, I am calling Felix to discuss. Be available in 15 for a partner call.”
Why are the text messages so significant? Very simply, if the minister is the Randy in those text messages, then the minister broke the law. The Conflict of Interest Act is clear: A minister of the Crown shall not be involved in the operations of a business. If the minister is the Randy in question, then the minister was involved in the operations of the business working to secure a half-a-million-dollar deposit for Global Health Imports, not to mention participating in a partners meeting.
That is why the ethics committee launched its investigation. We brought the minister to committee at the beginning of June, and the minister was adamant he was not the Randy in question. How convenient that is, except for a few inconvenient facts for the minister.
First of all, the Ghaoui Group believed at all times that the Minister of Employment was the Randy in the text messages. When Global News reached out to Anderson to inquire who the Randy in the text messages was, he said that it was not the minister but the VP of logistics. When Global News inquired as to who the VP of logistics was, it found out it was not a Randy but one Edward Anderson, the father of Stephen Anderson. Stephen Anderson later admitted before the ethics committee that he had lied to Global News.
Global News undertook a further investigation. It could not find a trace of another Randy at Global Health Imports. I would further add that the Randy referenced in the text messages was a partner. The minister had been a partner, along with Anderson, up until his election. He had a 50% stake in the company at the time of the text messages. According to his own evidence at committee, the minister admitted that it was a small operation and that there were a handful of people in the company: him, Anderson and a few others.
In the face of that, without a trace of another Randy and without any explanation for who the other Randy could be, there is only one reasonable inference that can be drawn, which is that the Minister of Employment is the Randy in the text messages. He is the Randy who was involved in the shakedown of the Ghaoui Group and who is involved in allegations of wire fraud, and he is the Randy who, as minister, contravened the Conflict of Interest Act.
The minister's story does not add up. Everyone knows that he is the Randy in question, and that is why Conservatives have been consistent in calling for the disgraced minister to resign from cabinet. For months he has refused to do so, so we have called on the Prime Minister to fire the disgraced minister. However, of course the scandal-plagued, conflict-ridden Prime Minister, who has been found guilty not once but twice of violating the Conflict of Interest Act, is standing behind his corrupt minister.
It is an absolute disgrace. It underscores why the government cannot be replaced soon enough and why this country needs a carbon tax election now.