Trudeau cabinet minister resigns over false claims of Indigenous heritage

Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonneault (L-Edmonton Centre) resigned from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet Wednesday after he admitted he falsely claimed to be of aboriginal ancestry and bid on a federal government contract reserved for Indigenous businesses. Boissonneault made the admission after the National Post revealed the deception. Boissonnault often spoke of his great-grandmother Lucy Brenneis in Parliament, calling her a “full-blooded Cree woman.”

Former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Rayboult, who is Indigenous, said Tuesday that Boissennault should be told to leave the cabinet. “A Prime Minister committed to true reconciliation would have removed Randy (and the other Randy) from Cabinet long ago. Instead we get to watch white people play ancestry wheel of fortune.”

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement just prior to the daily Question Period in the House of Commons that said Trudeau and Boissonnault "have agreed that Mr. Boissonnault will step away from Cabinet effective immediately. Mr. Boissonnault will focus on clearing the allegations made against him.”

Boissonnault has also been dodging accusations of fraud and misuse of his cabinet office from the Official Opposition Conservatives who say he lobbied for government contracts while still a partner in the medical equipment company Global Health Imports.

"It's not just fraud cases that are before the courts, now there is a criminal investigation by the Edmonton police service… So, some deep reflection is needed by the prime minister and by the Liberal caucus on why it is that Randy Boissonnault is being permitted to stay in their cabinet, and I would say, to stay in their caucus," said Conservative MP Michael Barrett on his way into Wednesday's meeting of the Official Opposition caucus.

In an email to CTV News, the Edmonton Police Service confirmed it was investigating the matter and that it had "received a complaint regarding a fraud involving a local medical supply company" in July, and "this investigation remains active at this time."

Boissonnault’s business partner, Stephen Anderson, was hauled for the House of Commons ethics committee to explain Boissennault’s apparent activity and he suggested that it was “the other Randy” who was sending and receiving text messages. The "other Randy" was never produced.

The loss of the Liberal government’s only cabinet minister from Alberta is another blow to Trudeau, who has also been under pressure to resign as leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister of Canada from his own caucus MPs. Discontent has been building since the Liberals’ byelection loss this summer to Conservatives in the once-safe seat of Toronto-St.Paul. Opposition to Trudeau from his caucus increased when Trudeau lost two more byelections in Winnipeg and Montreal, including a Montreal riding previously held by former Justice Minister David Lametti.