Inside Politics

UPDATED - NigelWrightWatch: ... and introducing the Ethical Wall! (DOCUMENT DUMP)

by Kady O'Malley Posted: November 1, 2010 3:05 PM Last Updated: November 1, 2010 9:20 PM
Yeah, apparently, that's what Nigel Wright* has decided to call the conflict-of-interest-avoiding framework under which he is proposing to operate during his tenure as chief of staff to the prime minister -- at least, according to the papers that he filed with the committee over the weekend. 

According to a letter from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, as of last Friday afternoon, her office has indeed signed off on the arrangement, at least on a preliminary basis. 

So, exactly what kind of .. uh, bricks will be -- cemented? I'm not so good with construction metaphors -- into place to prevent Wright from breaching the provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act?  According to the documents provided, the commissioner has confirmed that the following matters or issues will be considered conflicts under the Act: 


  • any dealings that Onex Corporation, its operating businesses, subsidies and affiliates have with the Government of Canada, with a full list of the foregoing provided in the annex

  • the taxation of the Canadian private equity industry and its participants, including the tax treatment of carried interest

  • the tax deductibility of cross-border interest expense with corporate groups

  •  "any matter of issue which the commissioner may, from time to time, advise should be made part of the ethical wall
He will also "abstain from any involvement in the Canadian aerospace manufacturing industry.

Read the full report here:
Nigel Wright Docs - November 1, 2010  

*I suppose the commissioner could have come up with the term on her own, but honestly, this particular bit of phrase coinage just smacks of PMO. I can hear the brainstorming meeting now: "Okay, so what's tougher than a screen, guys? A wall! No, wait, a wall constructed entirely of ethics rules! Fine, bricks. Mortar. Whatever. I'm a communications officer, not a construction worker." 

NOTE: As a helpful soul at PMO pointed out to me, the term "ethical wall" did not, in fact originate in the back offices of Langevin Block, but seems to be slowly but surely replacing "Chinese wall" in business and legal circles, presumably out of (very possibly etymologically misguided) concern that the original phrase has unfortunate racial connotations. (From what I can tell, that's not the case, but better safe than sorry, I guess.) That does not, however, fully explain why Wright eschewed "conflict of interest screen." I stand by my theory that someone somewhere made the switch because they found 'screen' too flimsy. (Remember all those jokes about former PM Paul Martin's "venetian blind trust.") 


UPDATE: Here's the full list of Onex-related operating businesses, subsidies and affiliates, as listed in the annex. It's -- it's a pretty exhaustive list, you guys. I mean, I know the opposition parties are almost certainly going to grumble about the fact that the agreement doesn't explicitly mention health care, for instance -- but honestly, the only thing I could think of while transcribing was, "You know, I'm not sure if this is workable," particularly given the precautions that everyone else will have to take to make sure he isn't accidentally compromised. More on that in the next post, though. 


Onex Corporation

Onex Partners I
Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc. 
Emergency Medical Services Corporation
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. 
Res-Care, Inc. 
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. 
The Warranty Group, Inc. 
Compagnie Generale de Geophysique
Cosmetic Essence, inc. 
Magellan Health Services, Inc. 

Onex Partners II
Allison Transmission, Inc. 
Carestream Health, Inc. 
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. 
The Warranty Group, Inc. 
Tube City IMS Corporation
RSI Home Products, Inc. 

Onex Partners II
Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino


Onex Real Estate Partners
The Camden Development Platform
Town and Country Trust
NY Credit
Sky View Parc

Onex Credit Partners, LLC

ONCAP I
Armtec Limited
Canadian Securities Registration Systems Ltd. 
Futuremed Health Care Products L. P. 
EnSource
Western Inventory Service Ltd. 
CMC Electronics Inc. 

ONCAP II
CSI Global Education Inc. 
EnGlobe Corp. 
Mister Car Wash
CiCi's Pizza
Caliber Collision Centers
Sport Supply Group

Sitel Worldwide Corporation
Celestical Inc. 
Tomkins
Indigo Books & Music

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