Former Manitoba deputy premier accused of lobbying for sand mine

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This article was published 16/01/2024 (630 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former Manitoba Tory deputy premier Cliff Cullen was dragged into the Sio Silica controversy Tuesday, as he was accused of lobbying the NDP’s transition team in favour of a proposed mining project.

The NDP said Cullen contacted the team to advocate for the project Oct. 19 — a day after Premier Wab Kinew and his cabinet were sworn in and about two weeks after the Progressive Conservatives lost the provincial election.

An NDP caucus spokesperson said the transition team did not respond to the former finance minister and longtime MLA.

A source told the Free Press the unsolicited communication was considered an attempt to push the new NDP government toward approving Sio Silica’s proposed silica sand mine, which requires an environmental licence.

Cullen did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

On Jan. 12, NDP caucus chair Mike Moyes said he is asking ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor to investigate former Tory premier Heather Stefanson and Jeff Wharton (then-economic development minister and current Red River North MLA) over allegations the PCs tried to rush through approval of a licence while on their way out of office.

“This is a serious matter and that’s why the caucus chair has written to the ethics commissioner to investigate.”– NDP caucus spokesperson

The NDP wouldn’t say if the communication from Cullen will be part of a conflict of interest complaint to the ethics commissioner.

“Any attempt to push through the issuance of a licence during the caretaker period is wrong,” the NDP caucus spokesperson wrote. “This is a serious matter and that’s why the caucus chair has written to the ethics commissioner to investigate.”

Last month, Kinew accused the former PC government of trying to approve Calgary-based Sio Silica’s proposed mine near Vivian, about 35 kilometres east of Winnipeg, during the transition period between governments.

Two former Tory cabinet ministers — Kevin Klein and Rochelle Squires — claim they were urged to issue a licence while the PCs were on the way out, sparking conflict of interest complaints against Stefanson and Wharton.

Cullen was no longer a cabinet minister nor the MLA for Spruce Woods when he allegedly contacted the NDP transition team.

He did not seek re-election Oct. 3. Members of the previous legislative assembly stopped being MLAs when the election was called Sept. 5, according to a document on dissolution.

There is no allegation Cullen breached the Conflict of Interest Act, which restricts the activities of former cabinet ministers during a 12-month cooling-off period.

Rules prohibit, among other things, former ministers from lobbying the government on behalf of any person or organization or arranging meetings between a public official and another person in exchange for payment or other benefit.

Ex-ministers also face limits on the sharing of insider information.

There is no suggestion Cullen — who also held the justice, trade and education cabinet portfolios at various times during his 19 years in the legislature — was acting on another person’s behalf or in exchange for a benefit.

In response to an interview request, Sio Silica sent an anonymous statement by email.

“Sio Silica has not hired or contracted, directly or indirectly, former Manitoba deputy premier Cliff Cullen, nor is it contemplated for in the future.”– statement from Sio Silica

“Sio Silica has not hired or contracted, directly or indirectly, former Manitoba deputy premier Cliff Cullen, nor is it contemplated for in the future,” a spokesperson wrote.

The provincial Tories declined to comment.

Sio Silica wants to extract silica sand, which is used to create solar panels and computer chips, and process it at a new facility outside Vivian. Opponents have raised environmental concerns, which Sio Silica has attempted to allay.

Klein, the former environment minister, and Squires, who was acting environment minister, claim Wharton asked them to approve the project during separate phone calls Oct. 12, six days before the NDP cabinet was sworn in.

Klein and Squires — who both lost their seats to the NDP — said they refused, because it would breach the caretaker convention, when an outgoing party is to refrain from making major or controversial decisions that cannot be immediately undone by an incoming government.

In a Free Press op-ed Dec. 28, Squires said Wharton described the project as being of significant importance to Stefanson, but the outgoing premier couldn’t direct an approval herself due to a conflict of interest.

Stefanson addressed the allegations for the first time Jan. 13, after announcing she was stepping down as party leader.

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The former premier denied trying to rush through the approval before the NDP took over and said she was not aware of Wharton — or anyone in the party — trying to do so.

Stefanson said the PCs respected the caretaker convention. She said she doesn’t have a conflict of interest in the matter, nor a financial interest in Sio Silica.

Wharton has denied trying to influence Squires or Klein.

The NDP government is reviewing Sio Silica’s proposal and has not yet announced a decision on the licence.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.