Northern News Services
Published Monday, January 7, 2008
IQALUIT - Nunavut's integrity commissioner has concluded that David Simailak broke the Integrity Act by failing to disclose the name of a subsidiary of a private entity in which he had an interest.
Robert Stanbury is recommending that Simailak be reprimanded by the legislative assembly; acknowledge his wrongful conduct; apologize to his peers, his constituents and all Nunavummiut; and promise to faithfully fulfil his commitments under the Integrity Act in the future.
Should Simailak fail to comply within 10 sitting days after the legislative assembly accepts the recommendations, his right to sit and vote in the assembly shall be suspended without compensation until he conforms, Stanbury wrote in his report, which was obtained by Nunavut News/North. When reached last week, Stanbury told News/North he planned to hand the report over to the Speaker of the legislative assembly within a few days.
He refused to comment further, saying the report would "speak for itself."
In his annual public disclosure statements in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, Simailak didn't reveal that he had an interest in Kangiqliniq Development Ltd.
That company was approved for a $1 million loan by the Nunavut Business Credit Corporation (NBCC) in 2005. Simailak was minister of Finance at that time.
Simailak had disclosed his interests in Ilagiiktut Ltd, which owns Kangiqliniq Development Ltd. and Qamaniqtuuaq Development Corp.
Those companies had also been approved for $1 million loans - the latter in July of this year while Simailak was minister of Economic Development, who is responsible for NBCC - although he had placed them in a blind trust upon becoming minister.He has since resigned from his cabinet portfolios but remains MLA for Baker Lake.
While testifying before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Accountability on Nov. 29, Simailak said he didn't know about any of the loans in question until the list was made public by the government earlier in the month.
He also said he had consulted Stanbury about the perceived conflict of interest upon learning of the loans in November.
He said, at that time, Stanbury told him that the key was for the minister to have no knowledge of, or dealings with, loan applications from companies in which he has an interest. The failure to disclose his interest in Kangiqliniq Development Ltd. came to light a short time later.
The NBCC came under heavy fire by auditor general Sheila Fraser in 2007. Her office's audit found numerous instances of financial mismanagement and missing data.
