Cloaked firm a holding company, premier tells MLAs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/05/2017 (3096 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pallister Investments 22 Ltd., is a holding company, the premier told the legislature Monday during another insult-laden question period.

“What precisely does it do?” Fort Garry-Riverview NDP MLA James Allum demanded. “The people of Manitoba need to know whether the premier has a conflict.”

Pallister answered, but offered little detail.

“It’s a holding company,” he said. “It holds the retained earnings of 40 years of work; that’s what a holding company does.”

The NDP continued to attack Pallister over the lack of detail about the company, and about how and with whom he communicates while he’s away at his vacation home in Costa Rica.

The NDP’s Andrew Swan claimed last week during the premier’s estimates that Pallister first disclosed the company among his properties and investments in November, but the premier said Monday he disclosed his ownership in the company in 2013 and has gone beyond the required information.

“There’s nothing new here,” Pallister said. “They try to score cheap political points, and then misrepresent the fact. I know (Swan) made up information about his previous leader, so I shouldn’t be surprised that he would make up information about me.

“Don’t make stuff up,” Pallister told Swan (Minto).

Citing Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s decision last week to use only government email, Swan demanded Pallister do the same.

The premier said he’s talking to experts — including the clerk of the executive council and the auditor general — about ways to improve the security of his communications, and accused Swan of embarrassing himself by raising issues already addressed.

Pallister’s estimates had been scheduled to resume Monday afternoon, as were the estimates of Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen, But Olivia Billson, the premier’s press secretary, said they were busy with a cabinet committee.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca