Reality check: Stephen Harper’s man at GlaxoSmithKline

Canadians know that it was the Liberals who signed the deal to provide H1N1 vaccine with a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline in 2001 – the very same year that subsidiary donated $50,000 to the Liberal Party.

What they don’t yet know is Stephen Harper’s personal connection to GSK’s lobbyist and what role that relationship has with the long line-ups Canadians are facing for vaccine.

Meet Ken Boessenkool:

• Ken Boessenkool has been described as “a long-time confidant of Mr. Harper”. (Globe and Mail, 30 May 2008)
• He was a signatory to Stephen Harper’s divisive “firewalls” letter. (National Post, 27 January 2001)
• He served as policy and communications staff to Harper’s 2004 leadership bid, the 2004 Conservative election campaign, and as Harper’s senior policy advisor. (Paul Wells, Right Side Up, p. 70, 114 and Tom Flanagan, Harper’s Team, p. 73)
• But more recently, Bossenkool has been the registered lobbyist for GSK on behalf of GCI Group Inc. Among the files he is registered to lobby on is the contract “with respect to influenza vaccines.” And among his registered points of contact is the Prime Minister’s Office. (Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, Registration number 777232-232481-1)

This won’t be the first time Conservatives have been accused of giving favourable treatment to one of Boessenkool’s big pharmaceutical clients:

“Even a seemingly benign feature in the budget -- a surprise $300 million for vaccine to prevent cervical cancer -- has provoked awkward questions. Ken Boessenkool, a Calgary-based consultant and former senior adviser to Harper, is a lobbyist for Merck Frosst Canada, the pharmaceutical giant that sells the only approved cervical cancer vaccine in Canada.” - Susan Riley, Ottawa Citizen, 26 March 2007

Is Ken Boessenkool the lobbyist who has been reassuring the Conservatives that GSK would have no problem delivering a speedy supply of vaccine?