Nigel S. Wright | |
---|---|
13th Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister | |
In office January 1, 2011 –May 19, 2013 | |
Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
Preceded by | Guy Giorno |
Succeeded by | Ray Novak |
Personal details | |
Born | Hamilton,Ontario,Canada | May 18,1963
Political party | Conservative |
Other political affiliations | Canadian Alliance Progressive Conservative Party |
Alma mater | University of Toronto (BA,LLB) Harvard University (LLM) |
Occupation | Lawyer and business executive |
Nigel S. Wright (born May 18,1963) is a Canadian businessman and lawyer. [1] He served as the thirteenth Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada,from September 2010 to May 2013 [2] and is a Senior Managing Director in the London office of Onex Corporation. [3] Wright left the Prime Minister's Office [2] after it was reported that he had used his own money to permit Senator Mike Duffy to repay the government for housing expenses that were,at the time,the subject of media and political controversy. [4]
Wright was born in Hamilton,Ontario. He was adopted [5] by an engineering technician,was raised in Burlington and spent some time in England. His parents were not wealthy. [5] He graduated "With High Distinction" from the University of Toronto's Trinity College with a B.A. degree in Politics and Economics,where his classmates included Jim Balsillie,Malcolm Gladwell,Tony Clement,Andrew Coyne,Patricia Pearson,and author and political strategist John Duffy (not related to Mike Duffy). [6] [7] Wright was noted early on as a talented student. A political opponent and former classmate said that "back in the day,the question was 'Will Nigel be on the Supreme Court or be prime minister?' He worked harder than anybody and he was pretty much the smartest guy in the room." [6] Jim Balsillie,the co-founder of BlackBerry Ltd,remembered thinking that he would have to "seriously up [his] inspiration levels if [he was] going to keep up with this kid." [6] English-Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell recalls him as "an exceedingly decent,sweet and good-natured person",who appeared more mature and directed than his peers. "He just seemed like he had a much clearer sense of who he was than the rest of us." [8]
At college,Wright was a campus activist for Brian Mulroney and co-founded The University of Toronto Magazine;as editor,he emerged as an admirer of Margaret Thatcher. Wright went on to earn an LL.B (Honours) at the University of Toronto Law School in 1988 and LL.M. at Harvard Law School. [6] [7] Robert Prichard,chair of Torys LLP and former head of University of Toronto's law school,called Wright "among the very best and brightest of his generation." [9]
Often described by peers as a reclusive yet diligent 'workaholic',he has run half-marathons every morning for decades,suggesting an "unbelievably strong sense of control". [6]
He has served as sub-deacon and warden of the Anglican Church of Canada,and is a proponent of the Anglo-Catholic movement,which asserts the Catholic roots of Anglicanism;he attends St. Barnabas Church of the Diocese of Ottawa.
In Toronto,people who know him from his work at St. Thomas's Anglican Church say he is a straight arrow,honourable and committed to public service. [10]
As a young man,Wright contemplated joining the Anglican priesthood. During his time as a subdeacon at St. Thomas's Anglican Church,he was granted semi-private audiences with Pope Benedict XVI,and his predecessor,John Paul II. He accompanied a group led by Father Raymond J. de Souza,Roman Catholic chaplain at Queen's University,on a tour of holy sites in Israel. [11]
In 1984,Wright was asked by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to go on hiatus from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and work for Charley McMillan,his senior policy adviser. Wright took the job,and after returning to graduate from Toronto Law and then earning a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School,he returned to work as policy coordinator for Mulroney before Kim Campbell became Prime Minister. [11]
Wright has committed his time to three major charities:LOFT Community Services,which provides housing for people in need;Out of the Cold,a multi-denominational program for the homeless;and Camp Oochigeas,a Muskoka facility that caters to children with cancer. As board chair,Wright spearheaded a major fundraising campaign. He sits on an advisory committee,and previously volunteered a week of his summer vacation every year to work with children on the site. He also sat on the board of the Mastercard Foundation,which funnels millions of dollars into micro-financing ventures in the developing world. [11]
During his work in Prime Minister's Office,Wright pulled back from active participation but was known to have asked staff members who travel to collect shampoo bottles provided by hotels for use in a women's shelter. [12]
After earning a BA Wright considered a career in academia but instead chose to be a lawyer. He joined Davies Ward Phillips &Vineberg and was made a partner with the firm after only five years,the minimum number of years then allowed. [6]
While Wright was working on an acquisition deal for Onex Corporation he impressed chief executive officer Gerry Schwartz who took him under his wing. At Onex,Canada's largest private-sector employer,Wright received several promotions,finally becoming a managing director. At Onex he served on several subsidiary boards:
Wright rejoined Onex in July 2014 as a managing director in the buyout firm's offices in London,England. [14] [15]
Involved in Conservative politics from his days in college,he gravitated between the Progressive Conservative and Reform parties for years,trying to draft Stephen Harper to unite the then-divided right-wing forces. [6] He was eventually successful and became a founding director of the Conservative Fund Canada,the party's financial arm,and a director of Preston Manning's think tank in Calgary. In 2010,Wright was drafted by Stephen Harper to replace Guy Giorno as his chief of staff. In accepting the position,Wright left behind a seven-figure salary for a job described by Derek Burney as "exhilarating but more strenuous than anything else I did in the public or private sector". [6] The appointment attracted pointed criticism and questions about his ties to Bay Street;many in the opposition feared that he was too close to the private sector. During his appointment hearing,New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin told him that "Every move you make,every breath you take puts you in a conflict of interest." [6] Before starting the job,he had to negotiate with the Ethics Commissioner an "ethical wall" designed to insulate him from his holdings and other interests. [6]
As Prime Minister Harper's right-hand man,the "elusive" Wright became one of the most powerful players in Ottawa. He led many of Harper's big priorities,from the high-profile talks about the trans-Pacific free trade zone,to drafting the policy that limits foreign investment by state-owned enterprises in the oil sands. He was instrumental in the negotiating of skills training arrangement with the provinces and took over the International Trade file from minister Ed Fast. [6]
Wright disclosed in writing to investigators that during his time in the Prime Minister's Office,he did not file a single expense claim,paying all his flights,hotels,meals and other costs from his own pocket. [16] Investigators were told that it cost him tens of thousands of dollars,but,thanks to his corporate career,he could afford it,and that Wright held the belief that taxpayers should not bear the cost of his position if he was able legitimately to fund it himself. [17]
In the Hill Times annual ranking of the top 100 Most Influential People in Government and Politics,Wright placed sixth in 2012 [18] and in Maclean's 25 Most important People in Ottawa he placed fifth in 2012. [19]
Wright wrote a personal cheque of $90,172 to Senator Mike Duffy, covering the cost of residency expenses. At the time, Duffy was under intense media pressure over these expenses. A Conservative Party spokesman confirmed the money was a gift from Wright, with no expectation of repayment. Shortly before his resignation, the Ethics Commissioner confirmed it was investigating Wright for his repayment of these expenses. [20] Wright then left government service. On October 28, 2013, PM Harper stated in an interview that Wright did not resign, but was in fact dismissed. [21] Wright decided to stay in Ottawa until the RCMP finished its investigation of the Senate. [22]
On April 15, 2014, the RCMP dropped its nearly year-long investigation into Wright, saying "the evidence gathered does not support criminal charges against Mr. Wright." [23] The RCMP would later lay 31 charges on Duffy on July 17, 2014.; [24] Duffy was exonerated of all 31 charges on April 21, 2016 and Wright's actions were condemned by Justice Charles Vaillancourt as "mindboggling and shocking" and "unacceptable" "in the context of a democratic society". [25]
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who has resided in Canada since 1987.
Stephen Joseph Harper is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, serving as the party's first leader from 2004 to 2015.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad. The agency also reports to and advises the minister of public safety on national security issues and situations that threaten the security of the nation.
John Russell Baird is a Canadian retired politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2015 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He had been a member of the federal cabinet, in various positions, since 2006. Previously he was a provincial cabinet minister in Ontario during the governments of Premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Baird resigned from Harper's cabinet on February 3, 2015, and as a Member of Parliament on March 16, 2015.
Helena C. Guergis, is a Canadian politician of Assyrian descent. She represented the Ontario riding of Simcoe—Grey in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011, and was appointed Minister of State on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election. Soon after starting her parliamentary career, she became involved in several controversial situations, and these increased with time in both number and severity.
Stevie Cameron,, is a Canadian investigative journalist and author.
Karlheinz Schreiber is a German and Canadian citizen, an industrialist, lobbyist, fundraiser, arms dealer and businessman. He has been in the news regarding his alleged role in the 1999 CDU contributions scandal in Germany, which damaged the political legacy of former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl and involves the former Federal Minister of Finance of Germany Wolfgang Schäuble as well as the Airbus affair in Canada, which was linked through allegation to former prime minister of Canada Brian Mulroney. He was extradited to Germany on 2 August 2009, and convicted of tax evasion.
Michael Dennis Duffy is a former Canadian senator and former Canadian television journalist. Prior to his appointment to the upper house in 2008, he was the Ottawa editor for CTV News Channel. In turning 75 on May 27, 2021, Duffy retired from the senate due to mandatory retirement rules.
Dean A. Del Mastro is a former Canadian politician. He represented Peterborough in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Conservative Party from January 23, 2006 until November 5, 2014. He resigned from parliament after being convicted of breaking the Elections Canada Act during the 2008 election. He had previously served as the parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada and the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Carolyn Stewart-Olsen is a retired Conservative senator from New Brunswick. She was formerly Senior Advisor and Director of Strategic Communication in the Prime Minister's Office of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.
Robert Fife is a Canadian political journalist and author who was the Ottawa bureau chief for CTV News from February 2005. Since January 2016, Fife has served as Ottawa bureau chief for The Globe and Mail.
Guy Giorno is a Canadian lawyer and conservative political activist. He has served in the administration of Ontario Premier Mike Harris and Canadian Prime ministers Stephen Harper. He is described to come from the Mike Harris school of politics.
Sandra Buckler is a former director of communications for the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada under Conservative Party of Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She was appointed in 2006 and resigned from her position on June 26, 2008. Her tenure was contentious, including charges from the national media that she was overly restricted in sharing information, pressing journalists to instead focus on photo ops and adhering rigorously to talking points from the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO), as well as accusations from Members of Parliament that she had bullied them, and charges of conflict of interest. She joined Canadian Tire as Vice President of communications in 2015.
Lisa Sarah MacCormack Raitt is a former Canadian politician who served as a federal Cabinet minister and member of Parliament (MP) from 2008 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, Raitt was elected to the House of Commons in the 2008 election, representing Halton. Shortly after her election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper named her minister of natural resources, holding the role until 2010, when she became minister of labour. In 2013, she became minister of transport, remaining in the role until the Conservatives were defeated by the Liberal Party in the 2015 election. Raitt was re-elected in the newly formed riding of Milton. She contested the Conservative leadership in 2017, losing to Andrew Scheer, who made her deputy party leader and deputy opposition leader, a role she would hold until she was defeated in the 2019 election. Since leaving politics, she has been the vice chair of Global Investment Banking at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
Patrick Brazeau is a Canadian senator from Quebec. At the age of 34, he was and is the youngest member of the Senate during his appointment. From February 2006 until January 2009 he held the position of national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. Brazeau was expelled from the Conservative caucus following his February 7, 2013 arrest for domestic assault and sexual assault. On September 15, 2015, Brazeau pleaded guilty to simple assault and cocaine possession as part of a plea deal in which other assault charges were dropped, and he was acquitted of sexual assault.
Bruce Carson was an aide and senior advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. He was convicted of two counts of fraud, one was during the 1980s and again in 1990. His 1980 conviction resulted in prison time and his disbarment by the Law Society of Upper Canada for two counts of defrauding clients. Carson is now a contributor to numerous national publications, and a regular contributor to right-wing news aggregate, News Hub Nation, headed by former Conservative Cabinet Minister, Monte Solberg.
The Canadian Senate expenses scandal, also known as Duffygate, was a political scandal concerning the expense claims of certain Canadian senators which began in late 2012. Senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy, Mac Harb, and Pamela Wallin claimed travel and living allowance expenses from the Senate for which they were not eligible. Deloitte LLP was retained to provide the Senate with an independent examination of the expense claims. Duffy, Harb, and Wallin repaid ineligible amounts. Harb retired a few months into the scandal, and in November 2013, Brazeau, Duffy, and Wallin were suspended from the Senate without pay. Brazeau, Duffy, and Harb were criminally charged. On April 21, 2016, Duffy was acquitted on all charges. Charges against Harb were withdrawn and no charges were to be laid against Wallin. The scandal attracted much public attention, with as many as 73% of Canadians following it closely. Many said that the scandal impacted the 2015 Canadian general election.
Benjamin Perrin is a professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill were a series of shootings that occurred on October 22, 2014, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. At the National War Memorial, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian soldier and reservist on ceremonial sentry duty, was fatally shot by Islamic terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. Described as mentally unwell, Zehaf-Bibeau then entered the nearby Centre Block parliament building, where members of the Parliament of Canada were attending caucuses. After wrestling with a constable at the entrance, Zehaf-Bibeau ran inside and had a shootout with RCMP officers. He was shot 31 times by six officers and died on scene. Following the shootings, the downtown core of Ottawa was placed on lockdown and majority of schools in Ottawa were on lockdown while police searched for any potential additional threats.
The 2014 Saint Jean sur Richelieu ramming attack was a terror car ramming that occurred in Quebec on October 20, 2014. Two Canadian Forces members were hit by a lone wolf terrorist, Martin Couture-Rouleau. Warrant officer Patrice Vincent died from injuries, while another soldier was injured, but survived. The RCMP and the Government of Canada has characterized the homicide as a terrorist act by an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-inspired terrorist.