Ethics Committee blocks investigation into Liberal ties to contracted firm, owned by Trudeau's childhood friend

Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Barrett penned a letter to the Ethics Commissioner on Monday condemning the Trudeau Liberals over their ties to the firm Data Science Inc. in what appeared to be another conflict of interest.

However, the Commons ethics committee by a 6-5 vote Tuesday blocked an investigation into spending of public funds on the firm. Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs opposed further hearings into contracts awarded to Data Sciences Inc. of Montréal.

“Speaking of wasting taxpayer dollars,” said Liberal MP Han Dong, who described the proposed investigation as a “taxpayer-funded fishing expedition.”

On June 21, 2021, the Globe and Mail reported that the Liberal Research Bureau paid more than $75,000 in contracts to the firm regarding technical support and training related to software that “assists MPs in their parliamentary engagement with constituents.” However, a subsequent news report by the publication said that another company, NGP VAN, conducted the software training.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is named as a member responsible for the research office under Section 67(2) of the House of Commons Member By-Laws.

“Why are we here today?” asked Liberal MP Brenda Shanahan. “We all know why we’re here. We all know why our colleagues from a certain Party wouldn’t want to let a whole summer go by without having this kind of meeting.”

“This is a fake scandal,” said Shanahan. “It seems my colleagues are really trying to engineer a fake scandal at all costs.”

The founder and CEO of the firm, Thomas Pitfield, is widely reported to be among Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s close circle of friends dating back to his childhood.

Former president of the Liberal Party Anna Gainey is Pitfield’s wife and both are close to the Trudeaus. They both “figured in the events” of Trudeau’s “illegal vacation” on Aga Khan’s private island in late-2016 that was ruled a conflict of interest by the Ethics Commissioner, Mario Dion.

Barrett referenced comments in his letter from two Liberal MPs, Wayne Easter and John McKay, who had “no idea” as to the role of Data Sciences.

Easter could not explain what the firm did for his office, stating that his constituency office and staff managed his social media. “I quite honestly don’t know what [Data Sciences] does,” he said.

McKay also could not recall why money from his office budget went to the firm. “I haven’t got a clue,” he said. “I can’t explain it. I vaguely recall once a year we write a cheque and it’s always been explained that it is within the ethical guidelines, so we all kind of sign up for it and it goes into some oblivion.”

Barrett said these comments “raise concerns” about whether Trudeau was improperly furthering a person’s private interests, as it pertains to Section 8 of the Conflict of Interest Code.

“This raised several questions,” he said, including how many contracts and the dollar amount was given to Data Sciences, if Trudeau was aware of what the services provided by the firm, why they were contracted to provide a service already provided by a separate vendor, and if any private conversations took place between him and Pitfield regarding this matter.

Barrett concludes by requesting an investigation into Trudeau‘s involvement in awarding the contracts and if this was indeed a conflict of interest.

According to expenses filed by the federal government, 97 percent of the Liberal caucus or 149 Liberal MPs paid Data Sciences Inc. out of their office budgets.

152 Liberal MPs also paid NGP VAN to run a political-campaign software licensed by the party, who denied that MP office budgets paid for the two database services that identify voters and issues in the event of a federal election.

“We found out there was a centralized campaign that was steered by the Party whip,” said Conservative MP Colin Carrie. The Party whip “tells you about discipline, what to do, what not to do, and when he presents a contract to members to sign... 97 percent of Liberal MPs signed the thing,” said Carrie.

“What is Data Sciences doing for the Liberal members?” asked Barrett, who sponsored the motion to summon company executives for questioning. “What are they getting from this contract?”

“I think it’s important that we understand whether or not there has been taxpayer money from members’ budgets being used to subsidize the political operations of a Party in Canada,” said MP Barrett. “That’s very important.”

The committee’s majority rejected further hearings following a five-hour debate. “It is not becoming,” said Liberal MP Steven MacKinnon, parliamentary secretary for public works. “It does not befit the honourable members of the House of Commons or of this committee to act in such ways.”

“Mr. Barrett in this Parliament it must be said has dug a lot of dry holes,” said MacKinnon. “He’s kind of like the Death Valley well driller.”

“I was just wondering if Mr. MacKinnon was talking about the finding of guilt for breaking ethics laws by the Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, if that was one of those dry wells he was talking about,” replied MP Barrett. “I just wasn’t sure.”

Minister Morneau resigned August 17, 2020 following disclosures he approved a $43.5 million grant for We Charity without divulging the group hired his daughter out of college and covered $41,366 in expenses to have Morneau’s family visit resorts in Kenya and Ecuador. The Ethics Commissioner ruled Morneau committed a conflict of interest on May 13.