Canada's Political, Justice & Police System: Corrupt!

Government House Leader, The Honourable Tony Valeri
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Letter sent today, January 17, 2006 to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner
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Jason Kenney, MP
Calgary Southeast

January 17, 2006

Dr. Bernard Shapiro
Office of the Ethics Commissioner
Parliament of Canada
Centre Block, P.O. Box 16
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Dr. Shapiro,
Re: Request for Inquiry Pursuant to Section 27(1) of Conflict of Interest Code

Further to the recent allegations reported in the Hamilton Spectator, please accept this letter as a formal request for you to initiate an inquiry into whether Mr. Tony Valeri, the Government House Leader, has fully complied with the rules, guidelines, and standards set out in the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders.
On January 13, 2006, the Hamilton Spectator revealed that Mr. Valeri was involved in a real estate transaction in which a property he had purchased in April 2005 for $225,000 was sold for $500,000 less than three months later. Mr. Valeri ultimately sold the property to Mr. John Ng, the son of an influential local businessman who has been a frequent and generous financial contributor to the Liberal Party of Canada. According to the Hamilton Spectator, the 2005 property tax assessment listed the value of the property in question at $201,000.
Since these reports were first published, both Mr. Valeri and Prime Minister Martin have claimed that these transactions were completed with your guidance and in compliance with the provisions of the Conflict of Interest Code. Our request for an inquiry would serve to verify those claims and to ensure that the integrity of the House of Commons is upheld.
In our view, the Hamilton Spectator story raises several important and unresolved questions. Chief among them being, how could the property have more than doubled in value within such a short period of time? How could a property that was adjacent to Mr. Valeri’s home be properly classified as a ‘recreational property’? And, did Mr. Valeri comply with his obligations under the Conflict of Interest Code and report the purchase and sale of the property within 30 days of each transaction?

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Section 8 of the Conflict of Interest Code requires that all public office holders inform the Ethics Commissioner of “any material changes in his or her assets, liabilities and outside activities” within 30 days. In addition, s.14 of the Conflict of Interest Code states: “Ministers of the Crown, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries are required to publicly declare liabilities greater than or equal to $10,000 identifying their source and nature.”
Having reviewed the materials available from the Conflict of Interest Code Public Registry located on your website, we could not find any evidence that Mr. Valeri had reported either the purchase or sale of the property to your office. Also, we note that Mr. Valeri publicly declared the $225,000 Royal Bank mortgage on the property only on July 26, 2006 – some eleven days after the property had been sold to Mr. Ng.
The final issue of concern is with respect to the classification of the land in question as “recreational property.”
As noted, the property was purchased from Mr. Valeri’s neighbour and is located immediately next door to his personal residence. Our concern is that this classification was based on incomplete information, as the transaction clearly appears to be an investment. By classifying the property as “recreational property,” it would be considered an “exempt asset” under s.10(1)(a) of the Conflict of Interest Code and therefore not subject to public declaration or divestment.
We trust that you will share our concerns about these suspicious transactions, and that you will give this matter your full attention. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Jason Kenney, M.P.
Calgary Southeast