Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 09/99) - Proposing ground-breaking legislative and procedural changes, a conflict of interest review panel presented its report Thursday, making 38 recommendations to the territorial government.

"Only the jurisdiction of Alberta has gone this far," said panel chairman Bob Clark. "If these recommendations are put in place, these will be the strongest conflict of interest guidelines for senior officials in Canada."

The result of a motion passed by the legislative assembly last December, the Management and Services Board established the three-person panel -- comprised of Clark, who's from Alberta, Yukon conflict commissioner Ted Hughes, and the NWT's Sue Heron-Hebert -- to review the conflict of interest provisions contained in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act.

Clark said Thursday the panel had worked toward four primary goals -- to strengthen the conflict-of-interest office, to define the procedure for dealing with conflict investigations, to make the process less expensive and more expedient than the public-inquiry method that currently exists, and to establish a conflict of interest regime so people will understand what's expected of their elected officials and how concerns can be expressed.

Among the panel's major recommendations are that the office of the commissioner be physically separated from the legislature and made accessible to both politicians and the public, that the office be given financial independence, that a campaign of public education be undertaken, and that senior officials down to the level of deputy minister be subject to the legislation.

Clark said Recommendation No. 38 is specifically designed to protect whistle-blowers or complainants, and it states, "no job action" may be taken against anyone assisting the commissioner.

Regarding legal costs, Recommendations No. 28 says, "That member's legal costs should only be paid if he or she is exonerated." Hughes said it is assumed the complainant's cost will be nonexistent, since the commission will handle the inquiry.

Releasing his own response to the report Thursday was former premier and Tu Nedhe MLA Don Morin -- himself the target of a conflict of interest inquiry last year.

Morin leapt on Recommendation No. 24, which states that if the conflict of interest commissioner determines the matter should proceed to a public hearing, he or she should not preside over it but that a more impartial party should be named.

"Mr. Morin stated that the panel's views in this regard are a vindication of the position he took through out his inquiry," his release read.