Spouses of ministers hold portfolios of publicly-traded securities
Ottawa Citizen“The spouses of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and seven other Conservative cabinet ministers are holding portfolios of publicly-traded securities without having to put the assets into blind trusts.
Harper himself lists no stock holdings, suggesting that the couple’s financial investments are made in her name. In August, they took out a joint loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia. Its value or purpose were not publicly disclosed.
Harper’s office refused to say which stocks his wife’s portfolio contains, or whether any of them are among the Alberta energy companies whose future performance could depend on upcoming cabinet decisions about pipeline policy and Chinese investment in the oilsands.”
So politicians get to buy and sell stocks, and make decisions that affect the value of those stalks. Nexen stockholders got a 65% premium on the deal. If the politicians know ahead of time the outcome of company announcements there is really very little risk matched to a very high return.
The conflict of interest is clear. Sell Canada off and make millions as a "commission" on every transaction. We need to regulate this.
It is psychopathic to make money off of handing the world over to a totalitarian dictatorship.
ChineseFirms Bringing Own Workers a Global Pattern: Expert
“But he said usually the countries that allow Chinese firms to import their own labour or other questionable business practices are underdeveloped dictatorships, adding it's "bizarre" Canada has allowed it.
Navarro added the controversial Nexen deal also showcases ineptitude in dealing with China by Canada's leaders.
"I saw a young Trudeau supporting this and, my god, somebody needs to take him over to Africa and watch how the Chinese do business there and see what it's like," he said.
"That man is out of his depth."
The Federal Ministry of Human Resources and Development Canada has not answered three recent requests by the Tyee to clarify how many Chinese miners are already working in Hudson's Hope, B.C., a separate project than the Tumbler Ridge mine.
Meanwhile the federal government has dedicated resources to effectively argue on the side of HD Mining in its court case with two unions trying to keep information about how the miners ended up in Canada confidential, offering a deal to release some of the information as long as it wasn't made public.”
