David Smith, Abotech, and Nursing

Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 10:03 AM

One of the questions left unanswered in the Abotech affair is whether it is reasonable to believe Anne Ethier, wife of MP David Smith (Liberal-Pontiac), could effectively lead a major computer consulting firm with no other employees.

It is an important question, because if the answer is "No", it suggests two possibilities, neither of them good news for David Smith:

• David Smith is still running the company with all the implications of ethical conflicts (or worse).


• The company does little actual work, bringing into question the money paid to it by the federal government.

Thanks to sharp-eyed reader JM, we might have an answer. This web page from the Universite du Quebec en Outaouais lists an Anne Eithier-Smith as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Nursing.

The name is right.

The place is right. The university campus is in Gatineau, at 238 Blvd Alexandre-Tache, three miles from the Smith residence on Rue Meilleur.

Not a lecturer in the business school, or the faculty of computer sciences. Nursing. Not to knock nurses, but unfortunately we are left with the impression that neither Anne Ethier (if this is indeed the right person), nor the kids who are also part owners of Abotech, are formally qualified to run this company. So is it company that is easy to run because someone else is doing the actual work that the government is paying for, or is David Smith still running Abotech from behind the scenes?

Index of Abotech posts:

Another Liberal scandal brewing
Abotech Scandal Update
Abotech Scandal Update #2: MP David Smith's six-figure company is run out of his home
Hiding behind the Ethics Commissioner
Abotech Scandal Update #3: Now Abotech is an aerospace company?
Abotech Scandal Update #4: The nature of the work performed -- "Other"
Liberals: David Smith might have done something wrong. Really!
David Smith, Jaguar Solutions, ASM Informatique, and Government Contracts
David Smith, Jaguar Solutions, ASM Informatique -- close, literally
The press confirms David Smith works out of his home
Could David Smith's kids be running Abotech?
David Smith, Abotech, and Nursing
The Abotech Affair: The Link between Indian Affairs and Public Works
Abotech: One competitive contract awarded
Major developments in the Abotech affair (and a major correction)
David Smith is as aboriginal as my Polish grandmother
David Smith's extended Liberal Party bio
On the question of who manages Abotech and subcontractors
The Smith-Brazeau connection -- Deeper than I ever imagined

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Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.
Based on a work at stevejanke.com.

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