Friday, July 14, 2000

CanOxy hires Lingenfelter, by Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, July 14, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan

The Regina Elphinstone riding will become vacant as early as next month, as former deputy premier Dwain Ling enfelter has officially accepted a senior position with Canadian Occidental Petroleum. John McWilliams, a vice-president with Calgary-based CanOxy, confirmed Thursday that Lingenfelter has signed a contract that will sees him start working for the company on Sept. 1.

"I think it's a really good fit," said McWilliams, confirming that Lingen felter has become the company's latest vice-president, heading up its inter national government relations division. "It takes a lot of skills and personality to do this job. He's got it." Asked why his company sought out a Saskatchewan politician whose social democratic roots might not be seen by some as typical grooming for the oil towers of Calgary, McWilliams said that Lingenfelter's background actually made him a very good fit for Canadian Occidental Petroleum.

"We are a socially minded company," said McWilliams, referring to his company, which has $4.1 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in revenue last year and was recently ranked 97th on Report of Business Magazine's Top 1,000 corporations. "It's a cultural fit. "He's sophisticated and very well grounded, much like we are here." McWilliams added that CanOxy puts special emphasis on its international relations. Besides its operations in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the com pany has substantial investments in Yemen, Colombia, Nigeria, Australia and the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Lingenfelter's new duties will involve overseeing governmental relations in these foreign operations and ensuring there is "a significant level of co-operation with the host government," McWilliams said. "It (the job) is as much judgment and skills as it is specific knowledge," the oil company executive said. "He (Lingenfelter) is well known and well respected internationally." McWilliams said CanOxy has already made arrangements that will allow Lingenfelter to continue to live in Saskatchewan.

McWilliams would not discuss details of Lingenfelter's contract, but sources say he will be paid in the $250,000-a-year range, depending on the stock options. Lingenfelter could not be reached at his Condie home for comment, but sources in his riding say they expect the former minister to officially resign his seat in mid-August.

The former minister leaves behind one of the healthiest constituency associations in the entire province with about 400 members -- the highest membership of any urban NDP riding -- and at least $40,000 in its bank account. It is also expected that some of that money will be used to set up a scholar ship fund for underprivileged youth in the riding, the source said.