OTTAWA— Embattled Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet while he clears his name.
In a brief statement issued Wednesday before question period, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “and MP Randy Boissonnault have agreed that Mr. Boissonnault will step away from Cabinet effective immediately. Mr. Boissonnault will focus on clearing the allegations made against him.”
Trudeau said Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor will temporarily assume responsibility for Boissonnault’s duties as minister of employment, workforce development and official languages.
The decision represents a reversal from Trudeau’s declaration Tuesday that he was “happy” to have Boissonnault “continuing to lead on issues around jobs and employment and represent Alberta in our government.”
Trudeau entered the weekly Wednesday caucus meeting without taking reporters’ questions, but at a G20 summit closing news conference on Tuesday, Trudeau offered tepid support for Boissonnault when asked about the allegations dogging the minister.
Cabinet solidarity earlier held on Wednesday for Boissonnault, but one of his caucus colleagues urged the Edmonton MP to do a better job of explaining himself.
“A good bit of clear light on the situation is the best disinfectant,” said B.C. MP Ken Hardie, who said he wanted Boissonnault to explain his position to Liberal caucus in the face of allegations he lied about having Indigenous identity or that the company of which he was previously co-owner fraudulently claimed to be Indigenous-owned in order to get access to a portion of federal contracts set aside for Indigenous-led businesses.
To date, Boissonnault has flatly denied the allegations as “false,” repeatedly standing in the Commons chamber Tuesday to rebuff demands by the Conservatives that he should be fired from cabinet.
But Hardie told reporters Wednesday on his way into caucus that Boissonnault needed to face the Conservatives’ “character assassination” head-on, and he expected a fuller explanation to caucus.
“I think he needs to come out and tell everybody what he knows, what he did, etc, etc. I mean, that’s really kind of the … best way to deal with the kind of character assassination that he’s been facing,” said Hardie.
Hardie said simply saying something is false is not enough, and he said he’d advise Boissonnault to “have a round table” with media, “sit down and answer all your questions.”
Hardie went on to say “I think Mr. Boissonnault is a big guy. You know, he should know his stuff. He should know who he is. And he has been given, actually, an opportunity here to come out and say on the record and make it clear to Canadians, right across the board, what’s really going on, where he is in the whole scheme of things.”
Asked if he should step outside cabinet until police are done investigating Boissonnault’s former company, as Global News reported Wednesday, Hardie said “that’s a little bit beyond my pay grade.”
Boissonnault, who held the employment and official languages portfolios, claimed Indigenous identity during previous elections, which he has now said is not accurate. The minister previously said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.” His spokesperson said she was Métis and that other family members have provided records sufficient to claim citizenship with the Métis Nation of Alberta, but Boissonnault personally doesn’t claim Indigenous status.
A handful of Liberals said it is up to Boissonnault to explain himself, saying they don’t have all the facts.
Liberal cabinet minister Sean Fraser said, “I think any time there’s questions about an individual who might actually have the context behind the story, the person closest to it is best positioned” to answer questions.
“My experience with Randy is that he’s been professional in discharging his responsibilities as the employment minister. But I don’t really have any personal information or context about any of the current stories,” Fraser added.
Fraser denied it was a distraction for the government, although Conservative opposition questions about Boissonnault dominated question period on Tuesday.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said, “I think the ethics commissioner has looked at minister Boissonnault’s company a number of times and has cleared him so I have confidence in him.” He said he would not comment on “issues of identity.”
With files from Ryan Tumilty
