OTTAWA - Karlheinz Schreiber will have a legal say not only on his business dealings with Brian Mulroney, but also on potential ethical reforms that could guide federal politicians in future.
Justice Jeffrey Oliphant, in a ruling made public Wednesday, granted Schreiber full standing to participate, through his lawyers, in wide-ranging policy deliberations to be held by a public inquiry.
Schreiber is "intimately involved in almost all, if not all, of the matters covered by the mandate of the commission," wrote the judge.
As such he is likely to be "substantially and directly affected" by any policy recommendations arising from the investigation. And although he may not have any professional expertise on ethical issues, "he does have a particular perspective that may assist me," said Oliphant.
That's especially true, he added, of matters related to the handling of correspondence by the Prime Minister's Office.
Schreiber has said he wrote to Stephen Harper last year outlining his complaints against Mulroney. Harper has said the letter was never passed on to him by federal officials.
The German-Canadian arms dealer already had legal standing for the fact-finding portion of the inquiry, meaning his lawyers can make submissions, cross-examine witnesses, propose witnesses of their own and otherwise fully participate in proceedings.
Schreiber applied last month for similar status in the broader policy deliberations - unlike Mulroney who has shown no interest in participating in that part of the inquiry.
In other rulings, Oliphant also granted standing for the policy review to the federal Justice Department and to Democracy Watch, a group that has long campaigned for improved ethics in government.
Duff Conacher, head of the group, welcomed the decision and said Democracy Watch can provide an independent voice that might otherwise have gone unheard.
"Every government since the (ethics) rules were created has ignored them or played around with weak enforcement measures," said Conacher.
"We want to make sure the commissioner knows all of the loopholes that exist that need to be closed."
Oliphant, appointed by Harper to get to the bottom of the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, is expected to hear his first witnesses in late March. A final report isn't due until the end of the year.
Mulroney has admitted he accepted $225,000 from Schreiber after he stepped down as Conservative prime minister in 1993 to promote the building of German-designed light-armoured vehicles in Canada.
He says he tried to line up support among foreign political leaders whose countries might buy the vehicles.
Schreiber says the deal was struck before Mulroney left office although the cash didn't change hands until later. He also claims the payments totalled $300,000 and that Mulroney was supposed to lobby the Canadian government, not foreign leaders.
Schreiber faces charges of tax evasion, fraud and bribery in Germany and has been fighting extradition for years. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson ruled last year he could stay in Canada long enough to participate in the inquiry.
