Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault is defending his portrayal of his connection to Indigenous ancestry while condemning his former business partner.
In a statement posted to social media Thursday, Boissonnault stood by his description of himself as “non-status adopted Cree,” arguing that it implies no Indigenous status for himself but honours the Indigenous family that raised him.
The Liberal MP said he arrived at the term after working with an Indigenous researcher, although the researcher said in a National Post interview he did not advise the use of the term.
“You ignored that advice and came up with this term independently on your own. And then you came back to committee and said, well, in the context of the conversation, I came up with this term,” Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said to Boissonnault before a parliamentary committee.
The Conservative MP pressed Boissonnault further, asking him why an Instagram post from the Liberal Party from 2016 claiming that he is Indigenous has not been taken down.
Boissonnault said he doesn’t know why that post is still up but that he worked “very quickly” to remove himself from a list of Indigenous candidates in the 2019 election.
Former attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was also on the list of Indigenous Liberal caucus members from 2016. She previously called Boissonnault’s claims “shameful” and “extremely destructive.”
“A prime minister committed to true reconciliation would have removed Randy (and the other Randy) from Cabinet long ago. Instead, we get to watch white people play ancestry wheel of fortune,” said Wilson-Raybould in a previous post to X.
Various Conservative MPs revealed key highlights from Boissonnault’s questioning.
“We agree with Jody Wilson-Raybould. It’s absolutely shameful,” said Conservative MP Bob Zimmer.
Boissonnault also claimed in his letter that he did not attempt to leverage his family’s history for personal or political gain and that he never identified as Indigenous on any application. He added that none of his businesses ever benefitted from such claims.
He shifted the blame to his business partner, Stephen Anderson.
“Mr. Anderson has used my name without my consent to further (the business’s) interests. I believe he has conducted himself unethically and may have misled many people. I take my obligations as a public official seriously. I did not operate any business while serving the public,” said Boissonnault.
Anderson previously revealed that the “Other Randy” did not exist.
Boissonnault reiterated that he left Global Health Imports in 2021. Despite resigning from the company in 2021 after regaining his seat, Boissonnault remained a 50% shareholder until June 2024.
The federal government suspended contracts with the company following an investigation by the Edmonton Police Service.
The company rented a mailbox in 2020, which was later revealed to be shared with a company registered under Francheska Leblond.
A Toronto-bound charter plane was found to have 200 kilograms of cocaine in Apr. 2022 by authorities in the Dominican Republic while Leblond was aboard.
Federal funding designed to boost the Indigenous economy requires companies to be at least 51% owned by individuals with Indigenous heritage. For Global Health Imports to qualify, both Boissonnault and Anderson would need to be Indigenous.
“Global Health is a wholly owned Indigenous and LGBTQ company,” wrote Anderson in a bid for Global Health Imports Corporation to supply face masks in June 2020.
Boissonnault said that Global Health Imports received no funds from federal contracts before his election in 2021.
He added that he has deep regrets about going into business with Anderson.
“I should never have placed my trust in him as a partner. His alleged actions have seriously harmed my reputation. Despite ample time and opportunity to explain himself, including at the Ethics Committee, he has refused to do the right thing and come clean,” said Boissonnault. “He has refused to admit that he has been using my name without my knowledge or consent. He will have another opportunity to do so if he is called to the bar of the House of Commons.”
Despite stepping down to clear the allegations against him, Boissonnault said he remains focused on doing the job he was elected to do.
Canadians don’t appear to be buying what Boissonnault is selling, considering his X post had over five times as many comments as likes at the time of publication, primarily containing comments of users calling him out.
True North reached out for comment to Randy Boissonnault and the Liberal Party of Canada but received no reply.