Conflict allegation in limbo
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 30/01) - A conflict of interest allegation against deputy premier Jane Groenewegen needs a formal complaint to trigger an investigation.
So far no one has stepped up to plate.
CBC television earlier this week raised questions about the Hay River MLA's directorship of two companies, but the reporter on the story doesn't intend to pursue the matter.
"I don't get involved in politics," Lee Selleck, said Friday.
Groenewegen has refused to comment on the issue until she hears from her lawyer.
MLA Michael Miltenberger said the allegation deserves investigation, but he hasn't considered taking action.
Miltenberger filed a complaint that led to a finding by the conflict commissioner that Groenewegen had violated conflict rules by using a car owned by one of her companies.
The Thebacha MLA said the commissioner's decision on his complaint -- that it was wrong for Hay River MLA to do so, but the violation was too minor to warrant an inquiry -- raised serious concerns about compliance.
"Unless you commit political murder, everything will go by the boards," Miltenberger said.
Miltenberger said the main issue, for him, is whether or not the rules are being followed.
An investigation would answer questions about the terms of the trust that was set up to distance Groenewegen from her business dealings and what control, if any, she had over the companies.
Conflict commissioner Carol Roberts has those answers, but under current legislation can not provide them until a complaint is filed.
Roberts said the public's right to know about members' business dealings ends where politicians' right to privacy begins.
"I don't think being elected should deprive you of the right to privacy," the commissioner said.
Current legislation does not require that any of that information be made public.
The commissioner can also grant exemptions from some rules. These are in the form of a letter to the member, and are not public, Roberts said.
Roberts said she has issued no such exemption. Her predecessor, Bob Clark, was responsible for current trust arrangements and disclosure statements.
Roberts said that, conceivably, there could be a situation in which a minister was allowed to remain a director of a company.
"Technically, yes, provided that they received the conflict of interest commissioner's permission to do so," she said.
"Every situation is unique so it would be looked at on its own merits."
That's news to Charles Dent.
Dent said that when he was a cabinet minister, he agreed to serve as a director of Friends of Democracy, a citizens group that launched a successful court challenge that led to Yellowknife getting three more MLAs.
"After I thought about it for a while, I approached the conflict commissioner and asked her advice," recalled Dent. "She told me in no uncertain terms that I'd better get off the board."
Disclosure statements must be filed with the commissioner each year. Roberts is now preparing the public versions of this year's disclosure statements. They will be available in two weeks.
