An ethics watchdog group is hounding the federal ethics commission to rule on whether a senior government adviser hired by Monsanto Canada is in a potential conflict of interest over genetically modified food.
Democracy Watch wrote an April 12 letter to federal ethics counselor Howard Wilson asking that he investigate whether John Dossetor, former Parliament Hill aide to health minister Allan Rock, can legitimately work for Monsanto so soon after working for the government.
Dossetor was senior policy adviser to Rock, whose department deals with assessing and setting rules for introduction of GM food.
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On Feb. 5, 2001, he started work as Monsanto’s vice-president for government affairs.
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Democracy Watch insists this violates federal rules that bar former public servants from working for companies they had “direct and significant” dealings with for at least one year.
It said there is reason for an ethics investigation.
“Evidence exists that while working for the government, Mr. Dossetor dealt with the file concerning decisions with respect to Monsanto Canada’s applications for approval of genetically modified foods,” it said in its letter.
Monsanto hired the former federal aide to help “build alliances and partnerships through the government channel,” it said in its advertisements announcing the hiring.
It is part of Monsanto’s effort to boost its public image and public policy effectiveness after losing the battle to have the dairy growth promoter BST approved and after running into growing skepticism over its GM varieties.
Around the same time, the company hired Trish Jordan, formerly with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the Canadian Wheat Board, to be manager of its public relations and industry affairs office in Winnipeg.
