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Clement blames ‘silly season’ for Commons flap over infomercial

Industry Minister Tony Clement dismisses a Commons uproar over an infomercial appearance as a product of the parliamentary ”silly season.”The minister came under fire last week for taking part in a promotional video for a private company from his riding. The company was trying to rustle up business in China.

OTTAWA — Industry Minister Tony Clement dismisses a Commons uproar over an infomercial appearance as a product of the parliamentary ”silly season.”

The minister came under fire last week for taking part in a promotional video for a private company from his riding. The company was trying to rustle up business in China.

Liberals and New Democrats demanded Clement be fired for using his position to shill for a private enterprise and asked the parliamentary ethics watchdog to investigate whether he broke any rules.

In an interview on Sunday, Clement brushed off his critics.

“I’m doing my job, doing my job as a cabinet minister, doing my job as an MP,” he said. “Every day of the week, cabinet ministers and MPs do or should be promoting business for this country.”

“Jean Chretien made a career of it, towing along 100 or 200 business people on his Team Canada tours to Russia or China.”

That said, some of Chretien’s business dealings have been criticized by his political opponents; however, he was never charged with a crime.

He said the only problem would be if he had a financial interest in the firm or if the company was a financial supporter. “Neither of which was true.”

Clement chalked it up to politics.

“I think this is the silly season in Parliament and the opposition’s job is, I suppose, with a certain amount of hypocrisy to tsk, tsk, tsk and say I’m doing something wrong.”

The 2008 video promoted Lord and Partners Ltd., a company based in Clement’s Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka that produces environmentally friendly cleaning products.

In the video, Clement identifies himself as the minister of health, as he then was and extends greetings to the people of China “on behalf of myself and the government of Canada.”

As industry minister, Clement subsequently appointed the producer of the video, longtime supporter George Young, to the Canadian Tourism Commission.

And Lord and Partners this year received three federal contracts, worth a total of $41,000.