Boissonnault out of cabinet to ‘focus on clearing the allegations,’ Trudeau announces

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.

In a statement issued just before question period, Trudeau’s office said the prime minister and Boissonnault “have agreed that Mr. Boissonnault will step away from Cabinet effective immediately.”

“Mr. Boissonnault will focus on clearing the allegations made against him,” the statement said.

Boissonnault has been under the microscope for months, from the House Ethics Committee’s scrutiny on his former medical supply business partner’s texts and subsequent probing around “the real Randy,” to revisions of his past Indigenous identity claims after federal contract bids surfaced.

The criticisms of Boissonnault and calls for him to resign came to a boil this week, after the National Post reported his previous claim that his great-grandmother was Cree was untrue.

Boissonnault has apologized for not being as clear as he could have been about his ancestry. He’s also previously said that upon re-election, he cut ties with the company he co-founded — an assertion that’s been in question since last spring — but faced new scrutiny recently after it came to light that the company claimed to be “Indigenous-owned” when bidding on federal contracts.

The announcement that Boissonnault is stepping down from cabinet comes after Trudeau insisted just yesterday that his only Alberta minister still has a place on the federal Liberals’ front bench.

The prime minister did not take reporters questions on the issue, but was pressed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during question period.

“Up until a minute ago, had a minister with a double identity. The prime minister knew the former minister was directing his business illegally from inside cabinet. He knew the former minister had claimed there was another Randy when there was no other Randy. He knew the former minister had falsely claimed to be Indigenous… yet he stood by him up until yesterday,” said Poilievre.

Trudeau responded by re-stating “the member for Edmonton Centre has stepped down from cabinet to focus on clearing these allegations.”

Veterans Affairs Minister and associate defence minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor will temporarily assume Boissonnault’s responsibilities as minister of employment, workforce development and official languages.

Since the announcement, several Liberal MPs, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Health Minister Mark Holland, have said they respect Boissonnault’s decision.

“I think now it’s good that he takes the time to clear his name, which I’m confident he will do,” said Filomena Tassi, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

NDP MP Blake Desjarlais, who is Métis and has been calling for Boissonnault to resign, said it is “welcome news for Indigenous people right across the country,” adding he is “very pleased.”

“If you pretend to be Indigenous for the purpose of accessing Indigenous benefits, funding or prestige, you will be found out,” Desjarlais told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday. “We will find you.”

“We will ensure that your reputation and the benefits you’ve received from pretending to be Indigenous are removed,” he added. “It’s unfair for so many Indigenous people that have done everything right.”

Desjarlais also said Boissonnault is “the only one who knows the full truth here,” and that he should reflect on his own conduct to decide “whether or not he has the integrity to stand as a member of Parliament.”

He said it will then be up to the voters whether to re-elect the embattled MP when Canadians eventually head to the polls.

NDP MP Don Davies told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday, following the news Boissonnault is quitting cabinet, that he’s “really gratified,” and that it was an “overdue decision.”

“The amount of ethical breaches of Mr. Boissonnault, if that doesn’t disentangle you from cabinet, I don’t know what does,” Davies said.

In an email statement to CTV News, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak called the controversy surrounding Boissonnault a “teachable moment.”

“Misrepresentation harms the integrity of Indigenous identity and is disrespectful to the experiences of First Nations people who face systemic barriers tied to their identities,” Woodhouse wrote. “It also undermines the progress we have worked so hard to achieve.”

“There is currently no consistent way of verifying the legitimacy of Indigenous citizenship, which creates a risk of false claims, tokenism, and exploitation by bad actors,” she also wrote. “If the government plans to create an Indigenous citizenship committee, First Nations must be included because it is only First Nations that can speak on behalf of our citizens and our rights.”

Earlier today, heading into a Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, MP after MP largely didn’t comment, or said it wasn’t for them to answer questions about whether Boissonnault should resign or be removed from cabinet.

Jaime Battiste, chair of the Liberal Indigenous caucus, said it was “a decision for the prime minister, not me.”

Battiste didn’t answer when asked if he wanted Boissonnault to stay.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he thinks Boissonnault has “been answering all these questions in the House of Commons, and he’s been very clear on his position.”

“So, we’re going to be working with him,” he said.

Liberal MP Vance Badawey, a member of the Indigenous caucus of which Boissonnault was also previously a part, said earlier Wednesday he didn’t think the controversy took away from his group’s work, and he “absolutely” supported Boissonnault staying on as a cabinet minister.

Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal said Boissonnault “has always been a great ally to Indigenous caucus since I’ve been here in 2015.”

“I appreciate Randy as a colleague. He’s worked very, very hard for Canadians,” said Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon.

Also commenting before the news broke, Conservative MP Michael Barrett pointed to “a criminal investigation” in making his case for why Boissonnault should resign, or be fired. 

“It’s not just fraud cases that are before the courts, now there is a criminal investigation by the Edmonton police service,” said Barrett on his way into Wednesday’s meeting of the Official Opposition caucus.

In an email to CTV News, the Edmonton Police Service said it “received a complaint regarding a fraud involving a local medical supply company” in July, and “this investigation remains active at this time.”

The police force also said the information received in July was “not sufficient” to re-open a separate investigation related to a report “regarding an alleged fraud involving an Edmonton medical supply company” made in March, and that investigation “remains suspended pending new information.”

Boissonnault was not seen heading into Wednesday’s meeting of Liberal MPs, nor was he in question period. MPs have called for the Liberal MP to testify again, and CTV News has requested an interview with him. 

With files from CTV News’ Rachel Hanes