OTTAWA – The Liberals say Justin Trudeau’s national campaign co-chair did not break any ethical standards when he sent a detailed email Monday to people behind the Energy East pipeline.
It offered up advice on how and when to lobby a new government – including if it happened to be a Liberal minority.
In the email, Dan Gagnier tells five people at TransCanada Corp. to target the right people in a new government as quickly as possible so they can help shape either Liberal or NDP decisions on a national energy strategy.
The email says such a lobbying effort would be needed to ensure the planned “in-service” dates of projects like Energy East aren’t put at risk.
Gagnier also writes that a Liberal or NDP government would likely reduce the size of cabinet to about 25 ministers, which would make the finance minister a critical lobbying target.
A Liberal spokeswoman said Gagnier’s analysis, as outlined in the email, has “nothing to do with his volunteer role on the campaign,” nor does he advise Trudeau on energy issues.
Gagnier has spent years in politics, including time working for the Privy Council Office, the central federal bureaucracy that supports the prime minister and cabinet.
He has also worked in the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and was twice chief of staff to former Quebec premier Jean Charest.
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