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Vaccine centre sparks Tory, Liberal battle

Consultant quits after accidentally sending email on behalf of Duguid

By: Mia Rabson

2/02/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 13

OTTAWA -- A part-time communications consultant for the International Centre for Infectious Diseases resigned Monday after he accidentally sent an email on behalf of the Liberal campaign of Winnipeg South candidate Terry Duguid from an ICID email account.

Dougald Lamont's resignation is the latest twist in a partisan battle of wills some suspect may be a factor in the shelving of an $88-million HIV pilot vaccine manufacturing facility.

Lamont issued his resignation Monday morning after he realized he'd used the wrong account to send a media notice about an event with Duguid and Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae.

Lamont, a well-known Manitoba Liberal party organizer with a private communications consulting business, had a part-time contract with ICID but also worked for Duguid's campaign. In an email apologizing for the mistake Monday, he explained he was working from a home computer that has access to both email accounts and he accidentally emailed the wrong group.

He said he resigned because he doesn't want his Liberal connections to harm ICID's ongoing relationship with Ottawa, or its federal funding agreements.

"I don't want to be an obstacle," he said.

Lamont said he doesn't think it should matter whether he does volunteer work for a political party and also works for an agency partly funded by the federal government, but he said he felt it necessary to step down because of ongoing concerns about the Liberal campaign of Duguid, ICID's former CEO.

"There has been a presumption (ICID) is a partisan organization," said Lamont. "It is not."

ICID CEO Heather Medwick was unavailable to respond to Lamont's resignation Monday.

Manitoba senior minister Vic Toews did not make himself available for an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press Monday. Instead, his office issued a written statement via email about Lamont's mistake.

"I was somewhat dismayed to see that this non-partisan, scientific organization had apparently chosen to enter the political fray by issuing a news release on behalf of the official opposition," reads the statement. "It seemed inconsistent with the very noble pursuit of science. Science is about neutral fact-finding and, in this case, the critical health and safety of Canadians. I would be disappointed if this entire episode serves to suggest to the Canadian public that there is another partisan agenda at play."

Lamont told the Free Press Monday he knows Duguid's candidacy was raised last summer as an issue for ICID's bid for the vaccine facility. The facility was to be the signature component of the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative, a joint venture of the federal government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Last month, the four bidders, including a consortium led by ICID, were told by the Public Health Agency of Canada their bids were not successful, but no reason has yet been given, nor an explanation of what might happen with the facility. Duguid said Monday he made the decision to resign as ICID CEO when he decided he would run in Winnipeg South. In August, he gave ICID a month's notice.

"A message got to me very quickly that I was to get out of my office immediately," said Duguid.

He says he was told if he didn't leave right away, it could jeopardize ICID's bid for the HIV-vaccine manufacturing facility. "I was out in two days," he said. At some point in January, however, ICID received a call from someone in Toews' office asking about Duguid's affiliation with ICID.

An email from Toews' office, forwarded to the Free Press, points out Duguid had not entirely severed his ICID ties. In fact, he was still on contract to work part-time on its bio-safety file.

Duguid has had the contract since last August. He did not divulge the information when he resigned, but said Monday he wasn't hiding it, either.

"I was asked to stay by the executive committee of the board," he said. "I accepted. I don't see an issue with that at all."

Last week, Toews himself noted Duguid's political and ICID ties in an email about the Free Press's coverage of the HIV facility.

"Our response to this news report and editorial will not be determined by the political aspirations of a Liberal candidate in South Winnipeg, who despite public statements to the contrary, did not sever his working relationship with ICID when he left his position as the CEO of ICID," wrote Toews.

Manitoba NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis said it shouldn't matter whether anyone from ICID was running for political office with any party.

"I thought we lived in a free and democratic society, which meant you could run for office and still hold a government job," said Wasylycia-Leis.

She said if Winnipeg and the global fight against AIDS lost out on the facility because Terry Duguid decided to run for the federal Liberals, that would be "deplorable."

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 2, 2010 A3

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13 Commentscomment icon

You know what is really funny...when the Free Press was tearing into Sydney Garrioch for not giving up his gov funded paycheck at MKO after becoming a Lib candidate, Terry Duguid left his colleague twisting in the wind while accepting praise for his saintly actions, namely for giving up his salary at ICID and maintaining such honour.

Terry surely did not step up and defend his fellow Liberal Candidate, by saying "I accepted. I don't see an issue with that at all." Why bother bring any negativity on his campaign he surely thought, just mention the ongoing salary at a later date and nobody will notice. Deception of the couch potatoes is this guy's M.O.

What a hypocrite

null, you said: "whether or not they are open, transparent, and accountable is irrelevent. They could be clear as glass and we would still hear about the "hidden agenda" from their opposition."... "If the public got clear, concise answers from the leadership, that would go a long way"...
I'm not sure whether you favour openness, accountability, and transparency or not. IF we had it, you're right that the politics would still continue. The difference is that the public would have information that would leave no doubt about agenda, hidden or otherwise. The public is bright enough to ignore hyperbole when they have openness. Without the openness, accountability and transparency, the public will legitimately question actions and motives. There are two problems here: 1)the current minority Con government's lack of credibility because they don't deliver what they promised; 2)the downward spiral of politics due to hyper-partisanship. Common good is the casualty.

I doubt the Conservatives aren't funding this because of the Liberal connection, they aren't funding it because their ultra-conservative ideology thinks HIV is a punishment from god. They don't believe in climate science why would they believe in HIV science? The Conservatives also don't care about getting a bunch of great scientific jobs in Winnipeg, those scientists are going to vote NDP or Liberal along with most of Winnipeg, only rural voters count for this government, lets build them some more hockey rinks.

@ Fred McTaggart - whether or not they are open, transparent, and accountable is irrelevent. They could be clear as glass and we would still hear about the "hidden agenda" from their opposition.

Half the problem here is that we are being subjected to a confusing array of information because this entire affair has been bumbling. First the PHAC web gaffe, which then spawned all this. If the public got clear, concise answers from the leadership, that would go a long way. Of course, we would still have characters claiming foul in some way shape or form because we don't all think alike.

Frankly, it is safer if ties are severed whether to non-profit with government funding or a government employee before running for office. For each person with hands in both pockets, the cynicism level rises.

Dougald Lamont here. I am the consultant in question. I run my own, independent communications consulting / marketing & design business, and I have a number of clients. One of them was ICID, where I worked one day a week until I stepped down yesterday. The rest of the work I do is from my home office, which is where I made the error.
ICID has been branded a "partisan" organization because Terry Duguid ran it and decided to run again for the Liberals. ICID is not a partisan organization, and I stepped down rather than further that misimpression.
I can say, for the record, that all of the work I did at ICID was related directly to that organization's mandate: I helped write and edit parts of the application for the $88-million vaccine facility as well organized and printed direct mail campaigns for the purpose of gathering support for the vaccine bid; I assisted in writing another grant that secured funding from the Gates Foundation, as well as writing, editing and organizing content for websites, and powerpoint presentations. I also designed banners, brochures, and print pieces, wrote letters and speeches, etc. In other words, I did not get paid to just sit in an office and dispel advice. I was paid only for work I did, and none of it involved Terry Duguid's campaign.
As a private individual I am free to work on political campaigns of every stripe, and as an entrepreneur, my political affiliation should not be a barrier to employment.

Mr. Toews mentions he is concerned about the nobel pursuit of science and the critical health and safety of Canadians....WHATEVER!!
Why then was the vaccine manufacturing facilty shelved? He won't make comment on that, but will dis on this issue. LIVES are at stake!!! Who cares about party GARBAGE!!!!
I am sick of the GAMES and lies on EVERY issue with these CONS!!!

Seems that everyone is over reacting here.

The only one with any common sense is the fellow who resigned. He didn't have to be asked or pushed. He realized his error and acted swiftly and correctly. He knew that the ICID's reputation was key and central to this matter and acted in the best way that he knew how. He acted in a way that was the only way he could. He did not hide, or blame or fight. He resigned.

It seems that Mr. Duguid did that as well, and he stepped down quickly when asked. The executive board was ok with the months notice requested, but as as this changed so did Mr. Duguid's decision. He resigned promptly. As for him remaining on, it was the executive board who asked him too, and they are the ones who would know best as they are fully aware of the daily and future implications of such things.

The response by the Toew's office seems to be a little over the top.

This is just a very clear insight into why our Parliamentary process has ground to a halt right now. We have too much partisan politics at play right now.

Since when are the conservatives really concerned about partisan party politics being in the forefront? They didn't seem to mind posing for the cameras with those great big conservative gov't cheques? Why should Duguid have to worry about his political affiliation? He was trying to do something great for the city and great for the worldwide medical community? Where's the problem? And for Toews' office to issue such a childish statement after the parties cleared the air shows just how out of touch they are with the reality around them.

A taxpayer funded consulting gig that wasn't disclosed to finance a campaign bid, and a campaign team on the same payroll - sweet deal. Am so glad this publicly funded centre is focused on furthing its mandate.

This issue has nothin - nada - to do with emails and party affiliation. See Dan Lett's column from earlier this week. He lays out the 'bottom line' on this corruption quite succinctly. This government is the worst I've seen in fifty years. They have to go.

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