Chrétien betting on resort-casino 

in Vietnam

April 15, 2009

As Stephen Harper tries to strengthen ties with China, Jean Chrétien is part of a team wagering on a resort and casino project in another region in Asia.

As part of the largest foreign investment in Vietnam, the former prime minister is involved in building a multibillion-dollar five-star resort and Las Vegas-style casino south of Ho Chi Minh City. The Ho Tram project, located on pristine white-sand beaches on the South China Sea, is the largest foreign investment in the country.

Since stepping down as prime minister in 2003, Mr. Chrétien has had little time for golf or enjoying the Zen garden at his home in Ottawa's tony Rockcliffe Park. Rather, the 75-year-old former politician, who acts as counsel to national law firm Heenan Blaikie, has been travelling the world making business deals and money. Mr. Chrétien has kept up his contacts from his career in politics and the decade he served as prime minister.

Two weeks ago, he was in Kazakhstan; in January, he was in Saudi Arabia, where he gave a speech. He'll be in Berlin and then back in Saudi Arabia in May as co-chairman of the InterAction Council, an independent international organization of former heads of government. It was formed in 1983 and co-founded by former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

And last year, Mr. Chrétien visited Vietnam, and met with the Prime Minister and other government officials, as part of the government relations team for Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL), the Canadian company that is developing a $4.5-billion casino-resort project that also features an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman.

Stephen Shoemaker, ACDL's president, says Mr. Chrétien has been a boon for the project. “Obviously, I think his strong relations with the Vietnamese government officials andthat he is somebody who is a very well-regarded individual, it's been extremely helpful for us,” Mr. Shoemaker says.

Relationships with officials in the Communist government are important. It is much like operating in China, where government and business are intertwined.

“He is well-respected,” says David Tsubouchi, a former Conservative cabinet minister in Ontario, who is also a part of the ACDL team. “I will say that as a Tory. Having a prime minister that will stand next to you is not a bad thing.”

Mr. Chrétien, by bent of his former position, opens doors. He was one of the first G7 leaders to visit Vietnam; he attended the Francophonie summit in Hanoi in 1997. He was also leading Team Canada trade missions into China in 2001.

There has been criticism from opposition MPs that the Harper Conservatives have lost four crucial years of trade and investment in China because of their policies. International Trade Minister Stockwell Day is in China now, trying to make amends. Mr. Harper is expected to make his first visit in the fall.

Meanwhile, there are investment opportunities in other countries in the region, such as Vietnam.

Mr. Shoemaker, who is heading back to Vietnam this week, says that the country is a good one to invest in as it is stable and the second fastest growing economy next to China.

He says that despite the difficult economic climate, the development is progressing well and that the gaming aspect of the resort is a “key piece of attracting investment capital.”

Vietnamese are not allowed, by law, to gamble. There has long been suspicion around gambling and gaming. This huge casino represents a big step for the Vietnamese into the world of capitalism, according to earlier newspaper reports.

Mr. Tsubouchi, the former Harris cabinet minister, who is now practising law with the firm, Miller Thomson, said yesterday that Vietnam is where China was 10 years ago, although the leadership is learning quickly that regulating certain practices is important to attract Western investment.

For example, Mr. Tsubouchi, who has a background in gaming regulation, says that the Vietnamese government is consulting with Nevada gaming authorities to discuss how they will make regulations.

“That's pretty important because ... anybody in North America who is going to want to put their money into any type of foreign country, they want to make sure that there is ... a corresponding degree of co-operation between those jurisdictions they are familiar with ...,” says Mr. Tsubouchi. “So that means there has to be an acknowledgment of basically the rule of law of regulated gaming.”

By Jane Taber - The Globe and Mail (.ca) - April 15, 2009

Jean Chretien and the Sidewinder Report
By Ann Jane Gray
In this WatchDog article, I will examine Prime minister Jean Chretien's connections to those companies and individuals mentioned in the Sidewinder Report. The Sidewinder Report, as readers recall, examined links of Chinese-triads and the Chinese government to Canadian-based corporations.
Jean Chretien's employment by Gordon Capital from 1986-1990 was his first public association with individuals identified by the Sidewinder Report as a threat to Canada's public security. Chretien's position as an advisor was a lucrative one and left him a wealthy man.
Chretien's ties to Gordon Capital continue to this day, in the person of Marc Fung, son of Gordon Capital's former vice-president during Chretien's tenure, Robert Fung.  Marc Fung travelled with the federal Liberals on Team Canada trips to Asia and was, as of May 2002, an aide in the Prime Minister's Office.
Gordon Capital is one of the financial companies used in the Sidewinder Report as a case study on the links between China, Hong Kong billionaires and Canadian financial institutions that are "clearly worrying for Canada's national security". The RCMP's concern arose over Li Ka-Shing, the father of the owner of the company, Richard Li.
Li Ka-Shing is a Hong Kong billionaire who, during the 1970s, was recruited by the Communist Party of China to teach capitalism to the ruling class. American defence departments have long known that Li's business empire is a military and intelligence arm of China. Al Santoli, a national security" advisor to U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, has called Li a "stalker for the PRC (China) whose "close ties to the People's Liberation Army intelligence (arm) are well known".
Jean Chretien's ties to China have become more indirect, but no less troubling, since his ascendancy to the Prime Minister's Office. During the course of his reign, China's leadership has embraced his son-in-law, Andre Desmarais, and his company, Power Corporation. Andre is the son of Paul Desmarais senior, Director ofPower Corporation and a close friend of Jean Chretien. Andre is married to Chretien's daughter France and serves as the President of Power Corporation's Executive Board.
China's welcoming of Andre Desmarais is evident in his appointment to two very prestigious boards, the Chief Executives Council of International Advisors to the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the International Advisory Council of the China International Trust Investment Company (CITIC). CITIC is China's largest conglomerate and is 42 percent owned by the government of China. The Communist government of China has given Power Corporation extensive access to the Chinese market and even formed a number of joint ventures with Desmarais.
Power Corporation, through its Hong Kong Subsidiary Power Pacific Corporation, has a growing portfolio of investments in China and Hong Kong, including a joint venture with Bombardier and China's Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works in Quingdao. Power Pacific has also joined CITIC and Shanghai Hi-Tech Park development Corporation to create CITIC-Power Zhangjiang Co. Ltd.
The Communists appointed Andre Desmarais, in 1999, as a director of CITIC Pacific, a subsidiary of CITIC. Mr Desmarais, upon becoming a director, was permitted to acquire 4.2 percent of CITIC Pacific--a rare privilege given the Communist Party's history of reserving company ownership for the children of its ruling elite. With the appointment to CITIC Pacific's board, Jean Chretien's son-in-law became associated with people and companies who have a history of abetting China's arms dealing and intelligence activities.
The three founders of CITIC Pacific's parent company CITIC--Li Ka-Shing, Henry Fok and Robert Kwok--are all suspected of ties to the Chinese army, Triad gangs and China's leader, Deng Xiaoping. Li has a lengthy history with the Communist Party of China that has already been discussed in previous WatchDog articles. Henry Fok has been labelled by the Hong Kong Police Department and British and American intelligence as a prominent member of the 14K Triad and a recipient of Chinese army patronage. Robert Kwok is reported to be a Triad member and has engaged in the Burmese heroin trade.
Congressman Rohrabacher has noted that other CITIC board members are also prominent members of the Chinese military industrial complex.
If China is conspiring to gain political and economic influence in Canada, as the Sidewinder report states, are Desmarais and Power Corporation's success in China the result of a calculated campaign by China to cultivate influence with the Prime Minister? Jean Chretien has already demonstrated, in the Shawinigate scandal, his willingness to breach conflict of interest regulations to preserve the value of his golf course. Would he do any less to preserve contracts with the government of China that are possibly worth millions of dollars to his son-in-law's company?
(Published in The WatchDog, April-June 2003 edition)
Canadian Legacy: The familial and financial ins and outs of Canadian politics.
By Ann Jane Gray
Many puzzled Canadians have watched while Jean Chretien pursued an anti-American, pro-Saddam Hussein policy that is not in the best interests of Canada.  If Hussein had managed to retain power, Jean Chretien's family stood to make millions. We believe that much can be explained by examining the political and familial connections of the Prime Minister.
First it is necessary to understand that some federal (and provincial) politicians of all stripes belong to an exclusive club. Below you will read about the cast of characters and some of the known leading roles:
John Rae was the leading strategist for Jean Chretien's election campaign. He was formerly the Executive vice-president of Power Corp. He is the brother of Bob Rae, the former NDP premier of Ontario.
Bob Rae, while Premier of Ontario, appointed Maurice Strong as chairman of Ontario Hydro. The past CEO of Paul Desmarais' Power Corporation, Strong was appointed to the UN as a senior environmental adviser to the UN secretary-general and Chairman of the Earth Council. His area of responsibility was the Kyoto Accord.
Paul Martin, formerly the Finance Minister under the current regime is considered a shoo in for Prime Minister as Jean Chretien exits the scene in February of 2004. Martin was previously on the board of Power Corp and formerly on the board of Connaught Laboratories. Allegations have been made of Connaught's implication in the tainted blood scandal. Martin and a partner purchased Canada Steamship Lines from Paul Desmarais of Power Corp at extremely favorable terms. Martin later bought the partner out. What obligations does Martin owe to Power Corporation interests once he becomes Prime Minister? Martin registered many of his vessels out of the country in third world registries, thus evading Canadian income taxes. Third world crews working in third world conditions crew his third world registry ships. Canadians must question whether the morality of Martin's evading Canadian income taxes while Finance Minister is a matter of concern.
Jean Chretien's daughter France is married to Andre Desmarais, the son of Paul Desmarais, of Power Corporation. Andre is on the board of multinational communications conglomerate Vivendi.  He runs Power Corporation. (estimated annual revenues $18-billion)
According to Paul Jackson of the Calgary Sun, in Le Monde, December 1, 1994, Jean Chretien, while in France talked about how French-Canadians had been "humiliated"  by the English and how today they see themselves as "martyrs." He boasted he was getting his own revenge and we quote: "For example, I have just appointed an Acadian to the office of governor general. So the governor general is a francophone. The same is true, among others, of the prime minister, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Speaker of the Senate, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Finance."
Many Canadians will remember Jean Chretien's frequent trips to China. Andre Desmarais sits on the board of Peoples' Republic of China's China International Trust and Investment Corporation. This is considered to be the investment arm of the Chinese military. Through Project Sidewinder, the RCMP tried to investigate the links between the Prime Minister of Canada, Desmarais and China. and potential undue influence on Canadian politicians.  For more information on the China connection read the WatchDog article "Jean Chretien and the Sidewinder Report."
Jean Chretien supported the powerful third world bloc of the UN. He supported France, Germany and Russia whose oil and debt interests in Iraq apparently override any human rights violation or concerns. He could have another more immediate reason.  According to Diane Francis of the National Post, Paris-based TotalFinaElf's biggest shareholder is Paul Desmarais Sr. She also states in a recent article, "Canada's stance is all the more unacceptable because it aligns us with such soiled nations as France, Germany and Russia which made billions of dollars with Saddam Hussein, ran interference for him diplomatically and signed huge future oil contracts with his deposed regime." --End of quote. Paul Desmarais Jr. sits on the board of TotalFinaElf.
Totalfinael apparently now has a large share of the major oilsands project in Alberta. The Alberta Oilsands could be one of the two largest relatively untapped oil reserves in the world. It will not be in France's interests to have Alberta secede to become a new independent nation or to join with the United States.
So it seems apparent the the financial oil interests of Jean Chretien's family had a direct bearing on the stance Canada took in the recent liberation of Iraq.
Mitchell Sharp, while Finance Minister introduced Jean Chretien to politics. When Chretien became Prime Minister, Mitchell Sharpe was appointed as the famous dollar a year advisor to Chretien. Since 1981, Sharpe has been vice-Chairman of North American of the Trilateral Commission.
Daniel Johnson formerly Liberal leader in Quebec is credited for having delivered much federal spending to the Quebec based Power Corporation.
Brian Mulroney, the Conservative ex-Prime Minister is now on a dozen boards in corporate offices including some Power Corporation and Quebecor World. He is a lawyer and lobbyist for Power Corporation. Power Corp and Ontario Hydro and Hydro Quebec formed a Hong Kong-based Asian Group Inc. to assist China in developing its energy potential.
Sources claim Power Corp's legal interests in Asia are reportedly handled by a Hong Kong branch of Mulroney's Montreal law firm, Ogilvy Renault.
While in office, Pierre Trudeau's government (Prime Minister and a former Power Corp. lawyer) signed over millions to Power Corporation under federal grant programs. Desmarais was credited with funding his election campaign.
Power Corporation began as a broken down bus line in Ontario. He moved his company to Quebec where he purchased another bus line in Quebec City. Able to get the ear of government, Desmarais went from success to success. Today Power Corporation is a multi-national company with many subsidiaries, over-extended not surprisingly as government bailouts have always been there. Since the first of the year Bombardier has received $1.5 billion in loans for its planes. These low-interest loans made to countries such as Spain have allowed them to buy airplanes, thus enabling this troubled industry to stay afloat.
So we now have an elite club of Conservatives, (Mulroney) Liberals (Trudeau and Chretien) and the NDP (Bob Rae) all connected to Paul Desmarais and Power Corporation.
Does the Kyoto Accord benefit Power Corporation?
Reports that cross our desk would lead us to believe that Maurice Strong has now joined Brian Mulroney and Paul Desmarais in investing in the Asia Power Group's $100-million venture capital in 'small coal-fired power plants being built in the south of China.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau named Strong as CEO of the newly created crown corporation, Petro Canada. Petro Fina of Belgium was the sacrificial lamb that became Petro Canada. Petro Fina is a  major holding in Desmarais European empire.
Larger projects in northern China, Malaysia, the Philippines and India expect to be undertaken. The Asian economies are expected to spend $1-trillion US on essential infrastructure, of which an estimated $400-billion US will be on power generation. Asian labor costs are low so potential profits are enormous.
A publication in November of 1993 by the Council on Foreign Relations' contains an article, The Rise of China where they state that China will begin to use more energy than the United States within a few decades. This will massively drain the world's energy supplies.
China will become the world's dominant manufacturing power. In a few years the technology sector under the realm of China will flood the world with TV's, radios, computers and hi-tech equipment costing pennies on the dollars at today's prices.
Most of China's energy comes from the burning of soft, high-sulphur, highly polluting coal. In 1991 alone 11-trillion cubic meters of waste gas and sixteen million tons of soot were emitted into the atmosphere over China. The sulphur in the coal causes acid rain. The burning of the coal releases carbon dioxide--the culprit in greenhouse gas. Today, ten years after the report was released, a dense smog continually covering much of Asia will not be affected by the Kyoto Accord.
There has been a rash of buying of low grade coal mines in depressed nations. The question must be asked; who would invest heavily in low grade coal, when it is a targeted Kyoto commodity?
While rumours say Strong, Desmarais among others are involved it has not been substantiated. Whomever it was it would have to be someone who thought they could burn it without Kyoto regulations. China's coal burning power generation is unregulated by Kyoto.
Paul Desmarais in September 1993, joined the Trilateral Commission. He spearheaded the Trilateral initiative promoting a Kyoto-like conference over concerns for the planet from carbon emissions produced by the developed nations.
Jean Charest, the newly elected Premier of Quebec was persuaded by Jean Chretien to step down from federal politics. After the leadership debacle when Kim Campbell took the fall, and lost the election she was appointed Canadian Envoy in California. Charest headed the badly tarnished Conservatives, where they limped through the election in 1997.
Jean Chretien persuaded Charest to step down and become the leader of the Liberal party in Quebec.  Canadians can expect more of the carrot and stick politics that Quebec is so expert at dishing out. Charest billed as the savior of Canadian nationalism will receive rich payoffs in the coming years for Quebec and for his own personal ambitions.
Chretien has until February to favor the Quebec political scene for the next 20-years. Charest has promised to lower taxes by $1-billion each year for five years. This is certain to raise the balance of transfer payments this rich province already receives at the expense of the rest of Canada.
Charest is also positioned to run for Prime Minister after Paul Martin's retirement from that position. This will place another Quebecer in the driver's seat and so on infinite ad nauseum.  The status quo will be maintained at great cost, quite possibly the eventual breakup of Canada.
So what is Chretien's legacy?
Kyoto. Deterioration and increasing alienation of Western Canada. Control by the Franophones over federal jobs. Increased provincial spending on the forced francophonyization of the rest of Canada. (ROC) Increased federal spending fruitlessly ramming French down the throat of the ROC.
Chretien has never been concerned with Canada, other than how its interests can best be used to serve Quebec. Chretien first interest is his riding of Shawinigan, which keeps him elected. His second interest is serving Quebec. Chretien gave more money to his riding in Shawinigan, as the Shawinigate scandals showed than he did to the entire province of Alberta.
The hiring of the Quebecer Stephane Dion, and giving him an non-elected seat in the House of Commons. Dion has managed to pursue the alienation out West, whose separation instincts are seen as a danger to the continued favoritism of Quebec and strengthening of European (France) ties to Canada. Instead of attacking Western Canadian interests, led by the desperation to survive as a culture Dion should be confronting the racial French language bigotry and preferred treatment pursued under the name of 'Quebec first' politics that has all but destroyed Canada.
Why did the lame duck refuse to get involved in the war on Iraq?  Why does he affect ignorance on Syria?
Tales in the media report that during the run up to the Iraqi war, Jean Chretien had almost daily conversations with his nephew, Raymond.  Raymond Chretien, was formerly the Ambassador to the US--a key posting plum. Raymond dirtied his drawers in the Bush/Gore election campaign when he stated that the Canadian government would prefer Gore. He was recalled in the ensuing uproar  and posted to France. Another top plum! There it is reported that he has the ear of Chirac. The question must be asked: Who is running the country? Jean? Raymond? or Chirac?
A couple of months ago we wrote that we believed Jean Chretien wished to be the next Secretary-General of the UN. His death grip on to the Prime Ministership until February of 2004, when this position comes open, rein forces that opinion.
Lester Pearson was the prime minister that received the Nobel Peace Prize--but that's another story!
Jean Chretien wants to be the prime minister that became the secretary general of the fast-deteriorating irrelevant UN. He has pursued votes vigorously in his frequent trips to Africa.  Wouldn't it be surprising if he was found to be not good enough!
Two years ago 2000 names of triad and gang members of Chinese nationals were erased from a computer in the Canadian Hong Kong Embassy.
(Chinese nationals are hired by Immigration Canada to work at our embassy in Hong Kong.)
The suspected culprit now lives in North Vancouver and works as a consultant for Immigration Canada.
The first RCMP officer investigating the case was pulled off the case and detailed to other duties.
The second RCMP officer investigating the case was not permitted to lay charges.
He went public and was suspended and placed under close arrest in Ottawa.
Close arrest means that you have to check in (in person) once a day.