Former U.S. secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem, pictured in March, was hired as a strategic adviser by NovaRed in June.Mariam Zuhaib/The Associated Press
Retired U.S. Navy commander Phil Ehr has resigned from NovaRed Mining Inc.’s advisory board over the hiring of former U.S. secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem, whose politics he staunchly objects to.
The tiny Vancouver-based mining exploration company made international headlines last month after it hired Ms. Noem as a strategic adviser. She was fired from her cabinet position by President Donald Trump in March.
Known for her aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration, Ms. Noem tried to justify two deadly shootings of U.S. citizens by immigration agents. She was also embroiled in a scandal around a US$220-million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign for the department in which she could be seen galloping on horseback at Mount Rushmore.
“Serving in any capacity with someone whose record includes the conduct and abuses that occurred under her watch at DHS made continued association impossible for me on principle,” Mr. Ehr wrote in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Ehr is running for the United States Congress as a Democrat and previously told The Globe he was willing to work with a Republican. But he said Ms. Noem’s radical stances on a range of issues made it untenable for him.
Long a divisive figure in the U.S., Ms. Noem wrote in her memoir about shooting her 14-month-old dog after it displayed aggressive behaviour. She also sided with Mr. Trump as he mused repeatedly about making Canada the 51st state.
“I am willing to work with almost anyone so long as they have a moral compass,” he said. “Kristi Noem does not.”
A few weeks ago, Mr. Ehr told NovaRed he was willing to resign if Ms. Noem remained. He stepped down on Wednesday.
NovaRed declined to comment.
Mr. Ehr served 26 years with the navy, including conducting classified air reconnaissance missions during the Cold War and providing combat support in the Gulf War. In a release in March, NovaRed trumpeted his experience, saying he’d had “a rare ‘Mustang’ career trajectory, rising from enlisted Seaman to Commander.”
NovaRed Mining adviser prepared to resign over Kristi Noem’s hiring by Canadian company
After hiring Ms. Noem, NovaRed doubled down on its strategy of recruiting acolytes of both Mr. Trump and Ms. Noem.
Late last month, the company appointed conservative political strategist Katie Zacharia to its advisory board. She is a former spokesperson with the DHS, who worked alongside Ms. Noem. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is also senior communications adviser for Truth Social, the social-media site operated by Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.
When he was recruited, Mr. Ehr said he was excited about working with a company that was working on developing a copper project in British Columbia, given the metal’s importance to the defence industry and electrification, two areas he is passionate about.
“I do hope that they are successful in the core area of their business, which is finding copper and bringing it responsibly and quickly into the supply chain,” Mr. Ehr said in an interview on Thursday.
Just over a year ago, NovaRed signed an option agreement to potentially purchase a 70-per-cent stake in Wilmac, a copper-gold project in south-central British Columbia. To fully exercise the option, the company would have to pay $700,000 in cash, issue four million share units, and fund almost $4-million in exploration work.
As of April 30, NovaRed was holding just under $49,000 in cash, down sharply from $477,000 on July 31 of last year. Its total liabilities stood at $210,000.
Last month, NovaRed warned its investors that it is a “going concern” risk, meaning there is uncertainty that it will be able to meet its financial obligations.
“Because NovaRed is involved in the exploration of mineral property without any known economic quantities of mineralization, it has not generated any revenue to date and is unlikely to realize revenue in the foreseeable future,” the company said in a release on June 23.
NovaRed’s market value on Thursday was approximately $29-million. The company’s shares trade on the speculative Canadian Securities Exchange.