Conservatives call for probe of friendship between Carney and Telesat CEO
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani has asked the ethics commissioner to consider the relationship between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Telesat Corporation CEO Dan Goldberg following the awarding of a $2.3-billion military satellite deal.
MP Jamil Jivani highlights public references to friendship between PM, CEO
Kate McKenna · CBC News
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Conservative MP Jamil Jivani has asked the ethics commissioner to consider the relationship between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Telesat Corporation CEO Dan Goldberg following the awarding of a $2.3-billion military satellite deal.
The letter, posted online, argues that Goldberg and Carney have a relationship dating back two decades, that has included running a marathon together in London, and more recently, Goldberg attending the swearing in of Carney's cabinet.
It says Goldberg moved to Ottawa in 2006 and soon after met Carney, who was a senior official at the Department of Finance. The two have been described as "good friends" multiple times, publicly, and neither have denied they are close personal friends.
But Goldman is not listed on the prime minister's ethics screen.
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Jivani is calling for Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein to determine whether a conflict of interest screen should be applied to Carney and to order it if necessary.
It also asks the commissioner to confirm whether Carney recused himself from decisions related to Telesat since March 14, 2025, and investigate whether Carney's participation in matters involving Telesat, including promoting it, warrant further examination.
"Given the long-standing friendship, Telesat's reliance on federal loans, contracts and capacity commitments worth several billion dollars and the decisions still to come, including the defence contract options, a reasonable person would expect at the very least an ethics screen to be established for the prime minister," said Jivani in the letter.
The ethics commissioner's office confirmed the letter has been received. The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to a request for comment.
Federal Conservatives have been raising this issue since at least August, when they requested the Carney government open the books on the deal, which would deliver secure communications for the Canadian military in the Arctic.
At the time, defence critic James Bezan said the Canadian military needs the satellite capability, but the public deserves additional transparency, given that the awarding of the contract was expedited over a matter of several months.
Carney's conflict of interest screen includes 103 companies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate McKenna is a senior reporter with CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa, where she covers federal politics. She previously worked for CBC’s The Fifth Estate and in the Halifax, Montreal and Charlottetown newsrooms. Her investigative and breaking news coverage has won five RTDNA awards. She is the author of No Choice: The 30-Year Fight for Abortion on Prince Edward Island.
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