Deputy minister scolded for post about Sio Silica

Premier Wab Kinew said Friday the deputy trade minister was admonished for posting about being on a trade mission with a representative from Sio Silica Corp. — the very company at the centre of an upcoming public inquiry.

“I don’t have an issue with this deputy minister going on the trip,” Kinew said. “This sort of thing happens all the time, and he was invited by another organization. But I do take issue with him posting on social media about this company.”

Michael Jack, the deputy minister of business, mining and trade, took part in a World Trade Centre Association trip to a business forum in Philadelphia in April. His post included a photo of the nine other Manitoba entities that attended, including Sio Silica Corp.

The company is behind a controversial silica sand mining proposal near Vivian, east of Winnipeg.

“We are launching an inquiry that will scope in this company,” said the premier, who announced the inquiry in December. It will delve into the former Tory government’s failed bid to push through an environmental licence for the Sio Silica sand mine during the party’s final days in office in 2023 after losing the election to the NDP.

“I do expect people who work in government to have the awareness that there is a public inquiry about to be launched into the affairs of this company and their activities, the activities of one of their board members, one of their employees and potentially more people,” the premier said.

The issue was addressed with Jack — who was appointed by the government in 2024 and is a former City of Winnipeg CAO — in a “direct conversation,” Kinew said.

The inquiry is expected to begin this year. Kinew said the terms of reference are being worked out and potential commissioners are being contacted.

“…Not only was this a huge, huge violation of our Constitution and breaking of the law by the PCs, but you also had people who work for this company — people who were on the board of directors, shareholders, at the very least pressuring those PCs politicians to break the law but, potentially, also inducing them as well.”

An ethics investigation found premier Heather Stefanson, and two of her cabinet ministers, Cliff Cullen and Jeff Wharton guilty of violating conflict of interest legislation. Each was issued a fine.

On Thursday, Wharton, the only one of the three still holding office, announced he won’t seek re-election in 2027.

Sio Silica said it has filed a new application to the province to extract sand in southeastern Manitoba.

“It’s a scaled-down, more cautious approach in the interest of some of the concerns that have been raised,” chief development officer Jack Winram said.

The company is following proper procedures, said Winram, the former CEO of the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association who joined Sio Silica earlier this year, and joined the World Trade Centre trip to Philadephia.

Area residents expressed concern the initial proposal — rejected by government in 2023 — put their drinking water at risk. The company’s new proposal was submitted to the province’s environmental assessment branch in August.

“We’re confident the application will stand on its merit,” Winram said. “Being a resident of the area, I respect the process to go through, and so we’re working through it — as any mining project would work through it.”

He said Sio Silica’s website has had nearly two million views because of the global potential of the project.

“The scarcity of high-purity quartz silica is well-known to be increasing in demand because of AI and advanced manufacturing.”

If the mining project is approved, Sio wants to “vertically integrate” a $3-billion solar manufacturing plant in Winnipeg, possibly at CentrePort, Winram said.

“Everybody from the prime minister to the premier to policy makers and business leaders are saying critical minerals are our advantage, but let’s have a value-added opportunity from it,” Winram said.

MLA Bob Lagasse, who represents Dawson Trail, said his constituents are keeping a close eye on Sio Silica’s latest proposal to make sure their drinking water remains safe.

“Unless they can prove this is environmentally sound, we’re going to put an aquifer at risk,” said Lagasse, who was elected as a Progressive Conservative but left PC caucus over concerns about its handling of Sio Silica’s first proposed project.

He said he received assurances from Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes Wednesday that the department is doing its due diligence.

“They sound like they’re following the proper channels and reviewing all the feedback they’ve received,” Lagasse said.

“I’m putting my trust in the government to ensure that this goes through the proper channels.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca