Board suspends Groenewegen inquiry
Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Fort Smith (May 14/01) - The Board of Management of the Legislative Assembly has suspended the investigation of an alleged conflict of interest filed by Jack Rowe against Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen.
At a lunch meeting in Fort Smith, the board reviewed a 44-page document from Groenewegen's lawyer Barry Chivers, requesting the Conflict of Interest Commissioner Carol Roberts be suspended due to reasonable apprehension of bias.
Katherine Peterson, Law Clerk for the Legislative Assembly said the investigation would be stayed pending the board's review of Groenewegen's complaint.
"The board decided that they would request, on a short-term basis -- that the conflicts commissioner hold her investigation in abeyance until they have opportunity to consider some of the complex legal and factual material that is going to be presented," Peterson said.
"We can only guess at what might happen until they've heard from both sides."
While the board would not release the document to the media, Peterson said the complaint stems partially from media interviews with the commissioner, which Groenewegen's council says contravenes the Conflict of Interest Act.
Section 95 of the act states that before undertaking office the commissioner must undertake an oath swearing, "...to faithfully and impartially perform the duties of the office and not to disclose any confidential information received by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner..."
When contacted the day after the board's decision, Carol Roberts was still unaware that she was to suspend the investigation.
She was asked by Groenewegen's council to voluntarily declare a conflict, but does not feel she has contravened the act through her comments to the media.
"Obviously, that's a matter of that's being disputed and at this point I have opinions about what I can and cannot say," Roberts said. "Obviously there are disagreements about that."
Jane Groenewegen declined to comment on the complaint against the commissioner.
"There is a process underway that is already pretty complicated and I don't want to add to the complexity of it," she said.
The Groenewegen complaint also alleges bias against board member and Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger, author of an earlier complaint against Groenewegen for driving her private vehicle, rather than one leased for her by the government.
Miltenberger declined to declare a conflict and told the board he will remain impartial in the new complaint.
"Do I think in my own mind that I am in conflict and do I think I can make a fair and impartial decision? I think so," Miltenberger said.
David Hamilton, Clerk for the Legislative Assembly, says the question of conflict rests entirely with the individual.
Groenewegen said Miltenberger is part of the Rowe complaint and has gone on record indicating his bias.
"When he was asked by News/North, why he didn't lay a complaint, but he said something like, he didn't think it would be worth it, because, 'You'd have to commit political murder for anything to stick."
"That's a pretty telling comment; it raises a question of impartiality."
Should the board agree with Groenewegen's complaint against Roberts, Peterson said there are several options available.
"There would be a request from the board to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories to appoint a special commissioner, either to deal with this particular issue or otherwise, depending on what the outcome was," Peterson said.
Hamilton said the board will take "two to three weeks" to decide the validity of the complaint against Roberts, but since the legislation is new and evolving, he says the entire process will amend the Act.
"This has never happened before," Hamilton said. "We're are the leaders in conflict across the country. It will take some time to get it sorted out."
