A Calgary-based energy company has hired the former chief of staff to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr.
Janet Annesley, who left Parliament Hill early last month for personal reasons, is now the senior vice-president of corporate affairs at Husky Energy.
The Conflict of Interest Act says a political staffer at Annesley’s level cannot work for a company with which she has had “direct and significant official dealings” in the past year, but Husky says Canada’s ethics watchdog cleared the hire.
According to the federal lobbyist registry, the last time Annesley dealt with Husky — through one of its subsidiaries — was in April 2016.
Annesley, who has years of experience in communications and lobbying for the oil industry, is not allowed to deal with Natural Resources Canada during a one-year cooling off period, and is barred from lobbying the federal government for an additional five years.
A spokesman for Carr says the rules for political staffers in the office are “quite clear, and they will be respected.”
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