OTTAWA — Amid criticism from Conservatives over his appointment to chairperson of the federal agency responsible for attracting foreign investment to Canada, Dominic Barton says he felt “compelled” to help the prime minister ahead of his investment summit. “I’m volunteering for this, I don’t need to do it,” Barton said in an exclusive interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos airing Monday. “I don’t mean to sound … I’ve got other stuff I’m doing.” “I feel compelled, it’s a mission to drive and build this forward,” he added. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s two-day inaugural Canada Investment Summit is being pitched as a way to court $1 trillion in investment over the next five years for major projects, and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has invited dozens of investment banks, state-owned fund and large pension funds to the event to do so. The PMO is showcasing more than 160 investment opportunities at the summit, with some of the priciest projects on the list including the expansion of the Port of Churchill, an offshore wind project in Nova Scotia and the proposed West Coast oil pipeline, which would carry oil from Alberta to the west coast. Carney announced Barton’s appointment as chairperson of Invest in Canada’s board of directors just two weeks ago, after the former CEO Laurel Broten quit without explanation. Barton is the current chair of Rio Tinto and LeapFrog Investments. He’s also the former ambassador to China who helped negotiate the release of the two Michaels. But the majority of his career was spent at McKinsey and Company, a global management consultancy firm headquartered in New York. Barton’s appointment generated criticism from the Opposition. In two posts to social media earlier this month, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre referred to Barton as “the ultimate Liberal powerbroker,” accusing him of helping McKinsey profit off the opioid crisis, and being the mastermind behind the destruction of Canada’s immigration system. And, in a post to social media including an open letter addressed to Carney earlier this month, Conservative MP Aaron Gunn called Barton a “scandal-plagued, Liberal insider.” Speaking to Kapelos about the Conservatives’ pushback to his appointment, Barton repeated that he felt “compelled” to contribute. “And if you’re asked by the prime minister to do something, I think you do it, and especially in in these times,” he said. “And that was what happened the last time too, it wasn’t on my mission to become an ambassador to China.” “But I always said, ‘when I’m 90 years old, looking back, would I always have a regret that I didn’t,’ and I think that’s the spirit in which it’s being done,” he also said. Barton will retain his role as Chairman of Rio Tinto, and says he spoke to the ethics commissioner twice about an ethics screen, which has been put in place. Investment about execution, not just opportunity Barton in his interview also discussed the challenges for attracting investment in Canada. Asked about a recent report by CPP Investments stating it’s execution, not opportunity, holding Canada back, Barton said he agrees. “I think execution risk is the big one,” Barton said. “I think people have long seen the opportunities, whether it’s even been in pipelines or ports, but the challenge has been the do-ability of it, whether just getting all of the approvals, the permitting time to be able to have it done.” He added investors are looking at major projects in the long term, and need to know there will be stability, with governments, regulations, and permitting. Barton pointed to a specific anecdote from his time working in China, during which he told Kapelos he was trying to get Canada to provide liquified natural gas (LNG) to China. He said while China was “actually quite excited” at the prospect of purchasing Canadian LNG — with about 15 per cent of their imports coming from Canada if the deal materialized — officials there ultimately concluded it wouldn’t happen and told Barton that’s because it’s too difficult to get things built in Canada. “The term being used was actually, have you heard the term ‘all hat and no cattle?’ … So you talk big, but maybe you should look at how you build,” Barton said. “I do think we’ve had that reputation.” Asked whether he’s convinced enough will materially change on that front in order to drive more investment in Canada, Barton said he is. “Part of it, I think, is because the pressure is so high,” he said. Barton added that while he doesn’t think Canada is currently competitive on the international stage, measures the prime minister is taking — such as the investment summit — are “actually shaking it up.” “I’m confident we will (be competitive),” he added, “because we’re bringing in this capital and this interest.” With files from CTV News’ Judy Trinh
