‘Dance card getting full,’ busy Doer says after joining global law firm

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This article was published 30/08/2016 (3678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former Manitoba Premier Gary Doer is joining international law firm Dentons as a senior business adviser.

Doer stepped down as Canada’s ambassador in Washington, D.C. last March after 6 1/2 years in the position. In May he joined the board of directors for both Great-West Lifeco Inc., and IGM Financial. He is also the co-chair of the Canada Institute Advisory Board at the Wilson Center in Washington.

“My dance card is getting full,” Doer said Tuesday.

Doer, who served as premier from 1999 to 2009, plans to stay in Winnipeg but will be affiliated with Dentons’ main office in Toronto. He will work mainly with Dentons’ Canada-U.S. cross-border practice, which provides legal and policy services related to trade between the two countries. Doer will also be involved in Dentons’ global public-policy initiatives.

“They’ve got great capacity to deal with Canada-U.S. relations with their firm, which is something I’m very interested in,” he said. “The goal is to try to have someone on either side of the border who can work to solve these issues.”

As Canada’s top diplomat in the United States, Doer worked closely with former U.S. ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin and Maryscott Greenwood, both high-profile public-policy experts at Dentons. Giffin is the chair of Dentons’ U.S. public policy and regulation practice. Greenwood is a principal at the firm and the senior adviser to the Canadian-American Business Council.

A news release from Dentons refers to Doer’s “exceptional experience at the critical intersection of business, public policy and cross-border relations.”

Doer is one of several ex-politicians who’ve landed at Dentons, including former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien and former Conservative industry minister James Moore. The firm has 125 offices in 50 countries.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca