Stephane Dion has a new image bodyguard:
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is moving to change key players in his troubled Opposition Leader's Office, as he sets out to repair his battered image after narrowly escaping a spring election.
The policy wonks who have surrounded the former university professor are now making room for political tacticians. Long-time Dion stalwart Andre Lamarre is being moved out of his role as director of communications to make way for the appointment next week of Nicolas Ruszkowksi, an Ottawa communications consultant who has worked in the Liberals' election war room and as a ministerial aide.
Nicolas Ruszkowski is a well-known figure when somebody needs their image fixed up. Prior to taking on the job of making Stephane Dion look good, he was helping other folks with their battered images. And when I say "prior to", I mean he was doing it last Friday.
You see, Ruszkowski is a vice-president at Fleishman-Hillard Canada Inc -- image consultants. As such, he had a lot of high-powered clients with very serious image problems.
As of this past Friday, May 7, Ruszkowski was lobbying on behalf of Royal Lepage Relocation Services, and the government agencies he lobbied included National Defence, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Treasury Board of Canada.
Why these agencies? Well, in November 2006, the Auditor General reported on problems in which the Liberal government awarded the 2004 contract to handle government employee relocations to Royal Lepage:
5.96 As part of our audit, we reviewed a sample of 10 relocations involving the use of property management services to determine if amounts charged to members were in accordance with the ceiling rate set out in the contract (Exhibit 5.4). The Canadian Forces contract establishes a ceiling rate of zero percent ($0), which is the maximum rate that transferees should pay for property management services if they choose not to sell their home during the relocation process.
5.97 We found that all 10 Canadian Forces members had paid an amount for property management services, from their own funds, that exceeded the contractual rate by between $800 and just over $8,000.
5.99 Recommendation. Public Works and Government Services Canada should ensure that all ceiling rates are in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.
Public Works and Government Services Canada's response. Public Works and Government Services Canada agrees with this recommendation and will conduct a detailed investigation to ensure that all ceiling rates are in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Any overpayment will be reimbursed to the Crown in accordance with the audit provisions of the contracts.
5.100 A basic principle of government procurement is that bidders can rely on the completeness, accuracy, and integrity of the information in the request for proposal and that bids will be evaluated fairly and equitably.
5.101 We have concluded for two reasons that the Canadian Forces and RCMP/Government of Canada contracts were not tendered in a fair and equitable manner. First, some of the business volumes incorporated into the request for proposal by the Treasury Board Secretariat, National Defence (Canadian Forces), and the RCMP contained materially incorrect information.
5.102 Second, although PWGSC followed its established processes, these steps were not sufficient—particularly when concerns had been raised—to offset an unfair advantage the incumbent bidder had attained through its work on a previous contract and to ensure that all bidders in the tendering process had access to correct and complete information.
Unfair contracts? Broken bidding process? Audits and reimbursements? Uh-oh, that could look bad for Royal Lepage's image. Quick, get Ruszkowski!
And for a period of one week, Ruszkowski was a lobbyist for the Fisheries Council of Canada, quitting last Friday presumably to take on the role of Stephane Dion's image repairman. What did the FCC want? They need help with a review of Health Canada's mercury advisory. You see, in February, Health Canada rolled out the advisory regarding mercury levels in canned fish:
Health Canada is expanding its consumption advice related to mercury in fish to include advice for specific groups on eating canned albacore tuna.
While Health Canada has a standard for mercury in fish that is among the most stringent in the world, occasionally some fish products may exceed this standard and therefore Health Canada has provided consumption advice for some groups. Today we are updating this advice. However, Canadians can rest assured that there is no reason to stop eating canned tuna.
As a precaution, Health Canada is providing the following advice.
- Women who are or who may become pregnant, or who are breastfeeding can eat up to four Food Guide Servings of canned albacore tuna each week. One Food Guide Serving is 75g, 2 ½ oz, 125 mL, or ½ cup.
- Children between one and four years old can eat up to one Food Guide Serving of albacore tuna each week.
- Children between five and eleven years old can eat up to two Food Guide Servings of albacore tuna each week.
The advisory came out on the heals of a CBC investigation that put the mercury situation into the spotlight:
Following a CBC investigation that found mercury levels above the allowed limit, Health Canada issued new consumption guidelines on Monday for canned albacore tuna for women and children.
Sixty cans of albacore, or "white" tuna, were purchased at nine grocery stores in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto. Studies have shown "white" tuna is typically higher in mercury content than "light" tuna, because it's generally a larger, older fish that has accumulated more mercury.
The tuna was tested at the University of Ottawa's Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, which is internationally recognized for its work with mercury.
"I was surprised. They were a good deal higher than I'd thought," said Dr. David Lean, who supervised the testing. "Clearly these tuna should not be eaten on a regular basis," he added.
"This is not to say if you eat fish above 0.5 you're going to drop dead tomorrow, or if you eat fish a little bit lower you're going to be fine. It has to do a lot with how much of it you eat," Lean said.
"But we were seeing numbers as high as 0.9, which is almost double the guideline. So why are they on the shelf? Why are we not protected?"
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has begun an investigation based on the CBC's test results. The agency says it will recall product, if it finds such a move is justified.
Advisories? Warnings? Consumption limits and recalls? This could be bad for the image of the Fisheries Council of Canada (including such members as Clover Leaf Seafoods, which won a major case in California to prevent mercury warnings from being printed on cans). Quick, get Ruszkowski!
Nicolas Ruszkowski is a lobbyist, and his job is to present his clients' positions in the best possible light, and to argue for their point of view in front of bureaucrats, politicians, and the press. By all accounts, he does his job well. I suppose for someone like Stephane Dion, with the serious image deficit that needs to be addressed, Nicolas Ruszkowski is the right man for the job.
Stephane Dion needs to look like a leader despite all the evidence to the contrary. Quick, get Ruszkowski!
