Unresolved questions require independent commission

Opinion

Manitoba’s ethics commissioner, Jeffrey Schnoor, recently released a report in which he concluded that former Progressive Conservative premier Heather Stefanson and two of her former cabinet ministers violated the province’s conflict-of-interest laws after losing the 2023 election.

They were accused of breaching the rules in an effort to approve the controversial Sio Silica sand mine during the short “caretaker period” before the new NDP government was sworn in.

Schnoor found that their actions “lacked ethical and constitutional legitimacy,” but failed to identify what motivated them to act so recklessly. He says he found no evidence that any of the them acted for personal benefit but, if that wasn’t the reason, why did they do it?

That’s just one of many serious questions still swirling around the former government.

Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala asked auditor general Tyson Shtykalo to investigate what went wrong with Manitoba Public Insurance’s Project Nova technology project. MPI abandoned the program two months ago after a review estimated that total project costs had soared from $107 million to $435 million.

The project was initially justified as an upgrade of MPI’s digital capabilities, which would enable Manitobans to renew or amend their auto insurance and driver’s licences online. It would also provide “seamless connectivity” between MPI and repair shops.

That was the hope back in 2020. Five years later, however, MPI Minister Matt Wiebe describes the program as a “waste of taxpayers’ money.” Where did all that money go, and why did MPI keep spending it?

In April, the Kinew government asked Shtykalo to investigate an (almost) $100-million taxpayer-funded contract to build daycare facilities throughout the province. It alleges that the project, in which the province partnered with a company named JohnQ Public Inc., “may not have followed normal provincial or municipal procurement practices.”

Specifically, the government claims the contract enabled the previous government to funnel $2.8 million to Boom Done Next, a company owned by Marni Larkin. Larkin was the campaign manager for the Tories’ 2023 doomed re-election campaign. How does a company earn almost $3 million on such a project?

Two weeks ago, a CBC report revealed that the previous government gave an $18 million grant to JohnQ Public days before the 2023 provincial election was called. There was no public announcement of the funding, which was reportedly for a large land purchase in the RM of Ritchot to develop a proposed “Winnipeg regional rail port.” Why the secrecy and rushed timing of the grant?

In February, at a debate between PC Party leadership candidates Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich, Kahn alleged that Daudrich was the party’s top donor for 12 years and accused him of receiving “licensing permits up north under the table” from the previous government.

Daudrich’s company, Lazy Bear Lodge and Expeditions, first received approvals to operate off-road vehicle tours near Churchill in 2004. The total number of permits for all tour operators in the coastal plain of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area was limited to 18 between 1984 and 2020. Five years ago, however, the former Tory government reportedly approved two additional permits, both of which were awarded to Lazy Bear.

Did Khan have inside knowledge that permits were improperly issued to Daudrich’s company, or was his accusation simply bluster in the heat of the moment?

There is no evidence that anybody acted improperly in these instances, let alone illegally, but there are many questions and few answers.

The Kinew government and many Manitobans are counting on the auditor general to expose and explain the questionable conduct of the previous government, but their hopes may be overly optimistic. That’s because Shtykalo has significant discretion as to which matters he chooses to investigate, and his office has limited resources. Even if he decides to review the issues referred to him, more than a year could pass before any reports are issued.

That’s neither good enough nor fast enough.

The better, more efficient course of action is for the government to appoint an independent commissioner to investigate the many unresolved issues, and to give that commissioner the power to compel testimony and gather evidence if necessary.

Manitobans deserve to know the truth. An independent commission is the best path to those answers.

Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@gmail.com X: @deverynross