Pascal Diethelm has searched the Legacy archives where he has found this incriminating memo of 1996. That puts a much darker and heavier signification on Barbara McDougall's appointment that was certainly valuable for BAT.
The link between IDRC and Imperial Tobacco may be deeper and longer-time than we suspect. In an internal BAT memo from S. Opukah to M. Prideaux, dated 15 October 1996 we can read the following:
"I understand that one of the IMASCO Directors sits on the IDRC Board! This was advised in conversation between myself, Keith Gretton and the Head of Public Affairs, Jodi White, when she visited the UK some months back. I would be grateful for your help with establishing this position and getting help from IMASCO on this IDRC connection. This seems to me a reasonable starting point."
What is IMASCO? In 1996, IMASCO was a subsidiary of BAT and was the parent company (owner) of Imperial Tobacco Canada.
The memo suggest that IDRC was infiltrated by Imperial Tobacco already in 1996. It also shows that, contrary to what Mr. Malone claims in his various answers, having access to such a IDRC Board position was considered important for BAT, which viewed it as "starting point" for their operations. The process must have been successful, since it has culminated 10 years later with the appointment as chair of the IDRC Board of a director of Imperial Tobacco.
It's also interesting to note that Mr. M. Prideaux, the recipient of the memo, was the Corporate & Regulatory Affairs (CORA) director of BAT who launched and supervised the Corporate Social Responsibility program of the company, which employs Ms. McDougall.
Best regards,
Pascal
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