(Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett’s new chief of staff Rick Theis. Photo from deleted Myspace account.)
Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
A Liberal operative and the senior vice president of a firm pushing a green refinery on the British Columbia West Coast are expected to fill top roles in the office of Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, APTN National News has learned.
Rick Theis, a long-time official in the Liberal party leader’s office, has been appointed as Bennett’s chief of staff.
Jeffrey Copenace, a senior vice president with Pacific Future Energy, is expected to take the role of senior advisor to Bennett.
An Indigenous Affairs official confirmed Theis’ appointment, but would not confirm Copenace has been named senior advisor.
Claudia Fournier, who is currently the media liaison for Bennett’s office, said no other political staffing appointments have been made.
Theis was the issues manager for the Justin Trudeau federal election campaign, according to his current Twitter profile. Theis’ LinkedIn profile indicates he joined the Liberal leader’s office as a policy advisor in 2010 when the party was the official opposition under Michael Ignatieff.
Theis remained in the Liberal leader’s office after the 2011 election, rising to issues manager in 2013.
Before entering backroom politics, Theis was a government relations officer with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Copenace also has a history with the Liberals. He worked in former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin’s office as a special assistant for Aboriginal and Northern Affairs from December 2003 to January 2006. Copenace was involved in negotiating the $5 billion Kelowna Accord deal between Ottawa and Indigenous groups, according to one biography. The Kelowna Accord died when Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper took power.
Copenace also worked as a senior advisor to two Aboriginal Affairs ministers in the Ontario Liberal government, according to a biography.
Copenace comes with experience from the highest levels of First Nation politics.
He worked in the office of former Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine beginning in June 2009, a month before the election of Shawn Atleo to the same post, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Copenace took on the role of deputy chief of staff for Atleo until the spring of 2014. Atleo resigned the national chief post on May 2 amid controversy over his support for the previous Conservative government’s First Nation education bill.
Copenace remained in the AFN national chief’s office until June 2014.
Since then, Copenace has worked for Vancouver-based Pacific Future Energy as the senior vice-president for Indigenous partnership. The firm’s list of senior officials also includes Atleo under the title of senior advisor of partnerships.
Pacific Future Energy is pushing a controversial $10 billion green refinery project on B.C.’s West Coast that would process about 1 million barrels of oil per day. The firm claims the refinery will have near net-zero emissions. The project faces resistance from groups like the Coastal First Nations who oppose the construction of new pipelines carrying Alberta-mined bitumen to the B.C. coast.
Theis and Copenace did not return requests seeking comment.
@JorgeBarrera
