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Press Release
Time to come clean on CSL:
Martin commented on family company's operations despite ethics guidelines
for immediate release
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
The Issue: During the Leader's debates and over the last few days, Paul Martin has been commenting on the business practices of his former company, Canada Steamship Lines. At a press conference in Montreal, Mr. Martin also dismissed questions about CSL's environmental practices, suggesting that CSL does not pollute.
These comments are interesting, given that Martin himself insisted — after his divestiture of CSL to his sons — that he was barred by ethics guidelines from knowing anything about CSL operations:
· "CSL's business activities will be kept 100 per cent blind to me. Having no interest in the company, there is, of course, no reason for me to be privy to this knowledge in any event. Furthermore, to remove any question whatsoever, protocols would be established to ensure that no information ever shared by the company with the federal government could ever be shared with me." (Martin Statement, March 11, 2003, reprinted in The Hill Times, March 17, 2003)
· Consequently, "I'm not in a position to comment ... on what the company has done." (National Post, December 3, 2005) and "I can't talk to my companies. And so, I mean, I've really got to stay away from it." (CBC Town Hall, February 4, 2004).
The Question: If ethics guidelines prevent Mr. Martin from knowing anything about the operations of Canada Steamship Lines, how was it that he was able to reply to a CTV reporter on January 7th that CSL ships no longer dump iron ore pellets in the Great Lakes, and that they no longer dump oil slicks off the East Coast? (as documented in This Magazine and ATI documentation)
For more information: Conservative Party Press Office (613) 755-2191
