Latest news with #JeffreySchnoor
Winnipeg Free Press
10-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Unresolved questions require independent commission
Opinion Manitoba's ethics commissioner, Jeffrey Schnoor, recently released a report in which he concluded that former Progressive Conservative premier Heather Stefanson and two of her former cabinet ministers violated the province's conflict-of-interest laws after losing the 2023 election. They were accused of breaching the rules in an effort to approve the controversial Sio Silica sand mine during the short 'caretaker period' before the new NDP government was sworn in. Schnoor found that their actions 'lacked ethical and constitutional legitimacy,' but failed to identify what motivated them to act so recklessly. He says he found no evidence that any of the them acted for personal benefit but, if that wasn't the reason, why did they do it? MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Then-premier Heather Stefanson and finance minister Cliff Cullen announce the 2023 budget to media. Columnist Deveryn Ross says it's time to have an independent commission examine PC spending decisions. That's just one of many serious questions still swirling around the former government. Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala asked auditor general Tyson Shtykalo to investigate what went wrong with Manitoba Public Insurance's Project Nova technology project. MPI abandoned the program two months ago after a review estimated that total project costs had soared from $107 million to $435 million. The project was initially justified as an upgrade of MPI's digital capabilities, which would enable Manitobans to renew or amend their auto insurance and driver's licences online. It would also provide 'seamless connectivity' between MPI and repair shops. That was the hope back in 2020. Five years later, however, MPI Minister Matt Wiebe describes the program as a 'waste of taxpayers' money.' Where did all that money go, and why did MPI keep spending it? In April, the Kinew government asked Shtykalo to investigate an (almost) $100-million taxpayer-funded contract to build daycare facilities throughout the province. It alleges that the project, in which the province partnered with a company named JohnQ Public Inc., 'may not have followed normal provincial or municipal procurement practices.' Specifically, the government claims the contract enabled the previous government to funnel $2.8 million to Boom Done Next, a company owned by Marni Larkin. Larkin was the campaign manager for the Tories' 2023 doomed re-election campaign. How does a company earn almost $3 million on such a project? Two weeks ago, a CBC report revealed that the previous government gave an $18 million grant to JohnQ Public days before the 2023 provincial election was called. There was no public announcement of the funding, which was reportedly for a large land purchase in the RM of Ritchot to develop a proposed 'Winnipeg regional rail port.' Why the secrecy and rushed timing of the grant? In February, at a debate between PC Party leadership candidates Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich, Kahn alleged that Daudrich was the party's top donor for 12 years and accused him of receiving 'licensing permits up north under the table' from the previous government. Daudrich's company, Lazy Bear Lodge and Expeditions, first received approvals to operate off-road vehicle tours near Churchill in 2004. The total number of permits for all tour operators in the coastal plain of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area was limited to 18 between 1984 and 2020. Five years ago, however, the former Tory government reportedly approved two additional permits, both of which were awarded to Lazy Bear. Did Khan have inside knowledge that permits were improperly issued to Daudrich's company, or was his accusation simply bluster in the heat of the moment? There is no evidence that anybody acted improperly in these instances, let alone illegally, but there are many questions and few answers. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. The Kinew government and many Manitobans are counting on the auditor general to expose and explain the questionable conduct of the previous government, but their hopes may be overly optimistic. That's because Shtykalo has significant discretion as to which matters he chooses to investigate, and his office has limited resources. Even if he decides to review the issues referred to him, more than a year could pass before any reports are issued. That's neither good enough nor fast enough. The better, more efficient course of action is for the government to appoint an independent commissioner to investigate the many unresolved issues, and to give that commissioner the power to compel testimony and gather evidence if necessary. Manitobans deserve to know the truth. An independent commission is the best path to those answers. Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@ X: @deverynross
CBC
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Manitoba ethics commissioner recommends fines against former premier, 2 ministers
A report by Manitoba's ethics commissioner says former premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers acted improperly by pushing for the approval of a silica sand mining project. Jeffrey Schnoor ruled their actions violated the Conflict of Interest Act and contravened what's commonly called the "caretaker convention" — a long-standing parliamentary principle that forbids outgoing governments from making major decisions in most cases.
Winnipeg Free Press
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Real question is why Stefanson and ministers put reputations on line for Sio Silica
Opinion As remarkable as ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor's report into the Sio Silica scandal is — and remarkable is a good word for it — it was unable to answer a fundamental question. Why would a former premier and two senior former cabinet ministers put their personal and professional reputations at risk to issue a licence for a questionable silica mining proposal in the days after they were defeated in the 2023 election? The fact that Schnoor could not fully explain 'why' is not a criticism of his report. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, left, with former finance minister Cliff Cullen, were found guilty of breaching ethics law by ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor's report into the Sio Silica scandal. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, left, with former finance minister Cliff Cullen, were found guilty of breaching ethics law by ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor's report into the Sio Silica scandal. History shows that politicians caught engaging in ethical transgressions rarely face anything stiffer than a good tongue-lashing. In finding former premier Heather Stefanson, former deputy premier Cliff Cullen and former economic development minister Jeff Wharton guilty of breaching ethics law — and recommending fines for each politician — Schnoor has flipped that script in dramatic fashion. In the days following the October 2023 election, Schnoor found that Stefanson, Cullen and Wharton went to extraordinary lengths to issue an environmental licence to Sio Silica, an Alberta-based company that wanted to mine silica sand in Vivian, just east of Winnipeg. The project involved unproven technology, and had triggered significant concern among environmental lobbies and area residents. These efforts took place during the so-called 'caretaker' period, in which an outgoing government is prohibited from making any government decision before a new government takes over. Schnoor was resolute that Stefanson, Cullen and Wharton made a variety of attempts to ram through a licence during the caretaker period. The report detailed how, working together and apart, the Tory trio tried to bully two other cabinet ministers into issuing a licence. They also tried to influence bureaucrats into licensing the mine without a ministerial directive. All of these efforts were unsuccessful as a licence was not issued and the new government headed by Premier Wab Kinew quickly declared that he would say 'no to Sio.' Stefanson argued in her submissions to Schnoor that because no licence was issued during the caretaker period, there was no breach of ethics law. Schnoor's report says the breach was committed in the effort to issue a licence in the days following the election loss. 'The caretaker convention stands at the very core of our democracy,' Schnoor wrote in a release accompanying his report. 'The legitimacy of a government depends on the support of the electorate, expressed in elections. A government that loses an election has lost the confidence of the people and has lost the legitimacy to do anything beyond maintaining the status quo until the new government can take office. The exercise of power by an outgoing government to make significant decisions except in the most exceptional circumstances is a serious affront to our democratic institutions and to voters.' The price for this affront to democracy may seem, at first blush, to be insignificant. The ethics commissioner recommended Stefanson be fined $18,000 for her role. Cullen faces a $12,000 fine and Wharton, the only one of the three who still has a seat in the Manitoba legislature, faces at $10,000 fine. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, left, and former economic development minister Jeff Wharton, pictured in 2022. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, left, and former economic development minister Jeff Wharton, pictured in 2022. Stefanson was fined the most because she was the head of the PC government at the time and thus, 'has a higher leadership responsibility that she failed to meet,' Schnoor wrote. Wharton, on the other hand, got the smallest fine in part because he was the only one of the Tory trio who offered to apologize for his role in this scandal. All of which brings us back to the pressing question of 'why' these three veteran politicians would engage in such clearly unethical behaviour. Schnoor made it clear he did not find evidence that any of the three Tories acted for personal benefit. If there was no effort to line their own pockets, then what? One might imagine that this was just a simple matter of them trying to help political friends in the private sector. When you dig into Sio Silica's network, you quickly find it has a strong Tory flavour. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. The Tory trio said they continued to pursue a licence because they believed the project had enormous economic value and that it could become a major part of the PC party's economic legacy from the seven years it was in government. Not one of those explanations comes even remotely close to addressing why they did what they did. Unfortunately, now that Schnoor's work is done, it appears we may never know the real motivations at work. The bigger concern for the current iteration of the PC party is that this scandal may evolve into a millstone with some staying power. Consider that the fines recommended by Schnoor have to be confirmed by a vote in the legislature. That means new Tory Leader Obby Khan and his 19 MLAs will have to vote for the fines — and thereby acknowledge that what the trio did was wrong — or vote against and suffer endless taunts by the Kinew government. It appears one way or the other, Sio Silica will be a political gift for the NDP that will keep on giving for years to come. Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
