‘Little guy from Thetford Mines’ expected to keep low profile, follow ‘the Centre’

Canada’s new Industry Minister Christian Paradis hasn’t issued a single tweet since May 6. Since Wednesday’s cabinet shuffle, his predecessor, Tony Clement, has held forth on cranberry lemon muffins, a trip to the dentist, Rush bobbleheads, and, of course, his new position as president of the Treasury Board, among other topics. Clement may well have been the country’s first Twitter minister, using the forum as a means to announce positions on substantive issues like usage-based billing. But the 37-year-old Paradis’ more staid use of the medium might be an indication of the method and temperament he’ll bring to his new job. Conservative sources who have either worked with Paradis or are familiar with his management style say he is not one to search out the limelight. “He's a shy person with the media,” one Conservative source said. Known among Tories as “the little guy from Thetford Mines,” he's likely to keep a much lower profile than Clement. While the learning curve is steep for any new minister, Paradis is inheriting a handful of dauntingly complex and delicate residual files, including copyright legislation, foreign ownership in telecom, an upcoming spectrum auction, and the government's overdue national digital economy strategy. Richard Paradis, president of consulting firm Groupe CIC and an instructor at the Université de Montréal's communications department, said in an interview that Christian Paradis’ Quebec origins played a significant role in his appointment, ensuring a high-profile position for a Quebec MP. But he doesn’t think the new minister will have a great deal of influence on the direction of policy coming from his office, he says. “I think in this government, there isn’t much of national importance that doesn’t go through the PMO,” he said. “Probably one of the reasons this minister is getting an upgrade is because he has followed the PM’s general policy directives and lines.” Conservative sources say Prime Minister Stephen Harper likes Paradis in part for his low-profile and tendency to be less opinionated than other Quebec cabinet ministers, such as Denis Lebel, who is now the new transport minister. It's no accident that Paradis serves as Harper's Quebec lieutenant and sits on the high-profile priorities and planning cabinet committee, chaired by the Prime Minister himself. Only Harper's most trusted ministers sit on this committee. Paradis is said to fall somewhere between an interventionist and a hands-off, laissez-faire capitalist. Conservative sources familiar with him said he's not an ideologue or “a free-market Bernier”—a reference to former industry minister Maxime Bernier—and that above all, Paradis is a hard-working pragmatist. It's partly for that reason that Paradis will respond well to the demands of “the Centre”—Ottawa terminology for the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office. “Wherever the centre is going, Christian will go,” one source said. “He's a good soldier.” Another added: “He's stubborn in the good sense of the word. When he has an objective, he won't let it go.” But the views of Conservative sources will differ from some other voices in the province that the industry minister represents. Richard Paradis pointed to full-page ads that some arts groups ran in francophone papers, opposing the Conservatives’ copyright legislation, Bill C-32. “Their representatives have been very vocal on the fact that they are deadly against foreign ownership and the copyright legislation that was before the House,” he said. But the Université de Montréal communications instructor isn’t sure how much influence Paradis’ Quebec constituents will have on his department. “ probably have more sensitivity towards it, but I think he’s going to be taking on a national perspective, and he’s going to have to defend the points of view of his government,” he said. “But at least he’ll have some openness and he’ll be sensitive to the fact that he knows in Quebec there’s a lot of anxiety about those kind of changes.” Until recently the minister of natural resources, Paradis' existing ministerial staff is considered weak, and the industry minister will need stronger support in his new, policy-heavy portfolio, a source said. One of his weaknesses is said to be a tendency to get caught up in details, failing to see the forest from the trees. “The bigger picture is not his forté. He'll need to be able to remove himself from those details,” one source said. Paradis declined an interview for this article as he gets briefed on the policy issues he’s inherited. But Pascale Boulay, his press secretary, said he accepts his new portfolio with “humility and enthusiasm.” Boulay said Paradis considers the industry file very complex and challenging but that he feels he has the credentials for the role. Prior to politics, Paradis had a legal practice specializing in corporate law. He graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke in civil law and holds a graduate degree in corporate law from Université Laval. Some in the industry are concerned about the inevitable delays that introducing a new minister will have on policy files. In a research note released the day of the shuffle, UBS Investment Research analyst Phillip Huang wrote that the change of minister could affect the department’s timetable and priorities. Huang wrote that he continues to expect a relaxation of the telecom foreign ownership rules, but that those changes and the release of the 700 MHz spectrum auction rules could be delayed. “Mr. Paradis may need time to acquire up-to-date knowledge of the sector, and may also prioritize and approach his new files differently,” he wrote. Maher Yaghi, a telecom analyst for Desjardins Securities in Montreal, said he doesn’t think anyone in the industry really knows yet how the shuffle will affect policy. “I wouldn’t make an investment decision based on a change in the ministry,” he said in an interview. “In general, everybody’s going to wait to see how he’s going to handle the situation and what he actually says on these topics before we arrive at conclusions as to how he’s going to handle the situation.” Yaghi added that he wouldn't draw conclusions about the timing of policy decisions, saying that nobody really knew the timelines before the shuffle. The 700 MHz spectrum auction was originally targeted for 2012 but some industry insiders now expect it in 2013. Richard Paradis said there is too much pressure from the industry for the date to be pushed back further. He added that amending the telecom act is less urgent, and that Paradis will move on other issues first. Richard Paradis said the digital economy file is the most important for the new minister. Clement had prioritized the national digital economy strategy, which before the election was intended for release this month, he noted. “Everybody in the industry, from all different sectors of industry, recognize that the digital information economy is probably where the future is,” he said. “And Canada’s been lagging behind many countries in giving itself a digital strategy.” Industry sources add that Paradis is not strong on copyright policy, which will be one of his top files as the Conservative government prepares to reintroduce its omnibus copyright reform legislation. Where Clement was previously seen to be leading the copyright policy file, particularly during the House of Commons committee process, it is now more likely to be taken up by Heritage Minister James Moore, who retained his cabinet job in the shuffle. The Conservative government is expected to reintroduce almost the same version as its former Bill C-32, but not until the fall session of Parliament. As one industry insider said: “It think it will probably be up to Moore to usher the bill through, whenever we see it.” news@thewirereport.ca

‘Little guy from Thetford Mines’ expected to keep low profile, follow ‘the Centre’

Broadcast | May 20, 2011

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