Barry Sherman was the subject of an investigation on financing PLC

AFP

AFP

Wednesday, 20 December 2017 13:30

UPDATE
Wednesday, 20 December 2017 13:34

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The Canadian Barry Sherman, who was found dead strangled as his wife at their home in suspicious circumstances, was the subject of an investigation into the funding of the liberal party in power.

“A few days before his death”, Barry Sherman was still trying to discontinue an investigation of a fund-raiser for the campaign of the current Prime minister Justin Trudeau in violation of the code of lobbyists, wrote Wednesday, the Toronto Star newspaper.

In a complaint filed on may 24, the court of Toronto, obtained by the AFP, Barry Sherman, requesting “an order cancelling the survey” the aim of his company Apotex on activities contrary to the rules of lobbying.

It also called on the justice “an order prohibiting the Commissioner of lobbying of Canada to pursue” its investigation.

These investigations were initiated following two complaints from the organization Democracy Watch, according to which Sherman and managers of Apotex, as a registered lobbyist, had breached the rules no longer meet with elected officials for which the funding sessions were held prior to their election.

According to the complaints, Democracy Watch, Barry Sherman and his wife had organized a meeting on pay with over a hundred people in August 2015, in the presence of Justin Trudeau, that was two months before the latter won the legislative elections and become head of government.

“The fundraising activities of Mr. Sherman to the then prime minister Trudeau and the minister of Finance, Bill Morneau and the liberal party have created conflicts of interest not only for him, but also to Apotex”, stressed to AFP Duff Conacher, founder of Democracy Watch.

If this conflict of interest should be recognized in court, Apotex would be “prohibited from lobbying the government until 2020”, he explained.

In a report cited by the Toronto Star, Phil McIntosh, head of investigations at the office of the Commissioner of lobbying concluded that “there was evidence that Mr. Sherman was engaged in political activities which could create an obligation on the part of one or more officials of a public office”.

Just after the announcement of the death of the couple Sherman, the first minister said he was “saddened” and had paid tribute to “their vision and spirit”.

Justin Trudeau expected to attend Thursday the funeral of Barry and Honey Sherman, found dead Friday at the edge of the indoor pool in the basement of their luxurious home in Toronto.

The medical examiner concluded that death by strangulation and the Toronto police stated investigating “the suspicious death” of the couple without mentioning up here of the killings.