Fisheries and Oceans Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s speech to a private event hosted by a law firm that has included J.D. Irving Ltd. among its clients is “unacceptable,” say the Conservatives.

LeBlanc is the star attraction of “Get the Atlantic Edge,” an annual cocktail reception at Toronto’s Rosewater restaurant on October 5 for clients and invitees of Cox & Palmer.

The invite-only event is Leblanc’s sole reason for travelling to Toronto; he was asked by the law firm to attend, said his office.

“The minister does similar events when approached, either as an MP or as a minister, particularly when they allow him an opportunity to talk about the Atlantic Canada economy and the growth strategy,” said spokesperson Patricia Bell.

Parliament will cover his travelling expenses because he is attending as an Atlantic MP spreading the word of the government’s growth strategy, she said.

Attendees aren’t asked to pay and “invitations are circulated widely within the business and professional community,” wrote Cox & Palmer spokesperson Terry Moore in an email.

The law firm describes itself as “Atlantic Canada’s top law firm” and co-host group m5, a public relations company, counts every provincial government in Atlantic Canada as well as major Crown corporations and companies in the region among its clients.

Cox & Palmer has represented J.D. Irving Ltd. — a company co-owned by Jim Irving, a close friend of LeBlanc’s — as recently as last summer when a saw mill owned by the company asked that the Saint-Léonard airport in New Brunswick remain open.

Moore, the Cox & Palmer spokesperson, wasn’t able to say whether the firm still counts Irving as a client by press time. Irving is currently a client for group m5, says the public relations firm on its website.

LeBlanc’s chief of staff has to “screen” him to prevent him handling decisions involving J.D. Irving Ltd. — no easy task, considering how the Irvings’ business interests cut across the Atlantic economy, particularly in New Brunswick.

A longtime friend of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, LeBlanc is the government’s lead minister for Atlantic Canada. His department wields a tremendous amount of the power in the region on account of its responsibility for fisheries and the marine environment.

LeBlanc’s attendance at this event is “absolutely unacceptable” given the minister’s close ties with the Irvings, said Conservatives fisheries critic Todd Doherty.

“We have said this right from the start that Minister LeBlanc needs to step down from this position given his close ties to the Irving families and their substantive interest in Atlantic Canada and influence in Canada as a whole,” said Doherty, who represents Cariboo-Prince George in B.C.

Speaking during question period Thursday, LeBlanc said he cleared his attendance with Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson.

In an email later, LeBlanc’s spokesperson said Dawson made her decision after begin provided with a copy of an invitation to the event. The two-page invitation states the time, place and sponsors of the event, as well as a very brief description of LeBlanc.

Also of interest to the legal community, LeBlanc chairs a new cabinet committee charged with managing over 45,000 legal claims against the federal government.

The litigation committee is in charge of claims that could cost Ottawa in the tens of billions of dollars, LeBlanc told the CBC last month.

In April, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was heavily criticized by the opposition for attending a $500-a-plate fundraiser hosted by Torys LLP.

Ethics Commissioner Dawson cleared her attendance at that event, Wilson-Raybould said at the time.

See the invite to the Cox & Palmer event here.

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