HALIFAX, NS: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released new documents today that raise questions about a multi-million dollar grant from a department headed by Peter MacKay to pay his former policy director top dollar to organize an annual security conference.

Documents obtained through the Access To Information and Privacy Act (ATIP) in Canada and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States show that in 2010, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Department of National Defence agreed to pay Halifax International Security Forum (HISF)* $9.96 million over four years to put on a security conference in Halifax.

But that contract came with a hitch. It required the “project manager” be a former staffer to Peter MacKay (2006-07), Mr. Peter Van Praagh. HISF is headquartered in Washington, DC. It was first created in 2009 and Mr. Van Praagh is the organization’s President. Peter MacKay was Minister of National Defence, one of the funding departments, at the time that the contract was signed.

“Taxpayers deserve the answer to a very simple question: why did the government give an almost $10 million grant that would personally benefit a former staffer to the Minister to organize a Halifax conference from 1,800 kilometers away in Washington. DC?” said Kevin Lacey, Atlantic Director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

According to briefing notes prepared for the Minister of National Defence in 2010, the conference was supposed to be self-sufficient at the conclusion of the 2013 conference. Organizers failed to deliver on that.

In November 2013, the Government of Canada committed another $9.8 million by 2018 to HISF.

“How did the DC-based conference planner get rewarded with a second grant of close to $10 million when he failed to deliver on the conditions of the first grant? The Minister should be trying to get the best deal for taxpayers instead of the best deal for his former staffer,” added Lacey.

Documents show that organizing a conference to be held in Halifax from some 1,800 km away in Washington, DC is an expensive undertaking.

According to the IRS, Canadian taxpayers subsidized big salaries for the politically connected conference planners. Filings with the IRS in 2012 show three HISF staff earned salaries as follows:

1. Peter Van Praagh, President -- US $228,134
2. Joseph Hall, Vice President -- US $223,140
3. Dakota North, Finance Office -- US $115,134

IRS document can be found HERE

The HISF’s main business is organizing the Halifax conference once a year. Money from Canadian taxpayers for this purpose made up 78 per cent of all revenues (government contributions = $2,466,562, total revenue = $3,163,469) of the HISF in 2012, ($425,000 earmarked specifically to fund salaries in 2010. 

The total cost of the conference paid for by taxpayers equals about $8,400 per participant. The HISF picks up travel costs, delegate fees and some meals for most of the participants.

* Note: The conference was originally overseen by the big US based charity German Marshall Fund in 2009. The HISF was part of the German Marshall Fund and not fully independent until 2011.

Partial documents can be found in links above. Full documents are attached here:

• Agreement between Government of Canada and German Marshall Fund (later transferred to the Halifax International Security Forum) in 2010 can be found HERE
• Agreement between Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Department of National Defence to fund HISF can be found HERE
• Amended agreement between Government of Canada and Halifax International Security Forum in 2011 can be found HERE
• Amendment to the 2011 agreement between Government of Canada and Halifax International Security Forum to raise level of salary expenses eligible for claim can be found HERE
• Agreement between Government of Canada and Halifax International Security Forum 2014 can be found HERE
• Documents HISF filed with the IRS in 2012 can be found HERE and 2011 HERE
• New*: Financial documents shared between Halifax Security Forum and ACOA HERE & HERE

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