Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 16/01) - The conflict-of-interest spotlight is now firmly fixed on the person charged with investigating complaints rather than the deputy premier being complained of.

Conflict-of-interest commissioner Carol Roberts and two lawyers she has retained boycotted a hearing last week, of a bias charge levelled by deputy premier Jane Groenewegen.

Commissioner Carol Roberts' lawyers did not show up for last Thursday's hearing of bias allegations levelled against the commissioner. The lawyers have not been paid since April because of a billing dispute with the legislative assembly. - Richard Gleeson/NNSL photo

Roberts said the special committee of MLAs appointed to hear the bias charge were aware she would be unable to attend the July 12 hearing when they scheduled it.

"The reason my lawyers weren't there is they haven't been paid since April," Roberts said.

Roberts' lawyers -- Deborah Lovett and Susan Ross -- have not been paid because of a dispute over the legislative assembly's requirement that it retain the right to "tax the accounts".

A "taxing" problem

Taxing of accounts provides a description of the activities billed for. At issue is the level of detail the taxation would require.

Roberts said taxation could include names and the descriptions of conversations and correspondence between her lawyers and herself. She said if it did, it would be a violation of attorney-client confidentiality.

Roberts' lawyers and legislative assembly law clerk, Katherine Peterson, are attempting to negotiate a solution.

The contract for legal services is officially made between the Speaker and the commissioner's lawyers.

Because of the no-show, the committee will not be able to meet the July 23 deadline to make recommendations on the bias complaint to the legislative assembly.

Instead, the committee will be asking for an extension. It plans to resume the hearing July 24.

Secret phone call

A secretly-recorded phone call may be a key piece of evidence for Groenewegen, if the committee decides to admit it.

Groenewegen's lawyer, Barrie Chivers, argued the recording of a March 26 phone call to Roberts from principal secretary John Bayly is "completely at odds" with the commissioner's version of her involvement in a news story that prompted the conflict-of-interest complaint.

"Let's call a spade a spade, the conflict commissioner does not want to deal with the facts," Chivers said.

Roberts said she did not know her conversation with Bayly was being recorded. Chivers agreed at the hearing to provide a transcript of the recording to the law clerk and Roberts' lawyers.

On Friday, Bayly would neither confirm nor deny whether or not he had made the recording, why he made it, and how it ended up in Groenewegen's hands. Groenewegen is alleging that Roberts demonstrated bias by agreeing to talk about conflict law for a story the commissioner knew was targeting the deputy premier.

Witnesses to be called

The special committee agreed to hear testimony of witnesses, including Bayly, CBC reporter Lee Selleck, and Roberts, to determine which version of events surrounding the interview is true.

Peterson said that Roberts initially set $100,000 as the limit of her legal costs. Since learning that witnesses will be called, Roberts has asked that to be upped to $300,000, Peterson said.

The witnesses will first be 'invited' to testify. If they do not agree they will be subpoenaed. If they still do not agree, they will be considered in contempt of the committee's authority and subject to whatever penalties the legislative assembly imposes. There is no appeal through the courts.