Premier to fight Liberal leader’s conflict complaint

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This article was published 18/05/2022 (1386 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Heather Stefanson is contesting a Court of Queen’s Bench complaint made by Liberal leader Dougald Lamont.

Although she has admitted to violating conflict of interest legislation by not disclosing $31 million in property sales in 2016 and 2019, court heard Wednesday that Stefanson plans to fight the complaint. The next court date is to be determined.

Outside the courtroom, the premier’s lawyer, Jonathan Kroft, declined to comment or say what the grounds are for contesting the conflict of interest complaint.

Lamont went to court because that’s the only way to hold a member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly to account if they’re alleged to have violated the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act.

“If we can’t get accountability in the legislature because there’s just a shrug and (the premier) saying, ‘I’m sorry I did that,’ I felt I had no choice but to go to the courts because that’s the only way we’re going to get accountability and get to the bottom of this,” Lamont said outside the Law Courts.

In January, after it was reported in the Free Press, Stefanson acknowledged she didn’t disclose the property sales to the conflict of interest commissioner as required by law and that it was an “oversight” for which she was sorry.

On Wednesday, after saying Stefanson would speak with reporters after question period, her press secretary cancelled, saying the timing conflicted with a news conference on flooding in the province. The premier also wouldn’t comment on a matter that is now before the court, she said.

“For a sitting premier and, at the time, a sitting minister to be selling millions of dollars in property ahead of an election and not telling anyone, and to be voting against tenants’ interest when they’re a landlord — those are things we need to get to the bottom of,” Lamont, the member for St. Boniface, said outside court.

“Especially when it’s the premier of the province — there has to be an element of trust here and there also has to be an element of justice, and if we’re not going to bother with those, then it’s completely eroding what our government and justice system stand for.”

In 2019, the McDonald Grain Company Ltd. — Stefanson is listed as a director — sold The Ritz apartment block at 859 Grosvenor Ave. for $7 million and Drury Manor at 1833 Pembina Hwy. for $22.5 million. The premier did not file a statement disclosing the disposal of assets.

In 2016, she failed to disclose the disposal of a storage facility on Saulteaux Crescent the McDonald Grain holding company sold for $1.78 million. Stefanson owns 20 per cent of the shares in the real estate holding company.

Lamont asked Stefanson in 2018 when she was families minister to recuse herself from voting on the Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act because she had a conflict of interest as the owner of apartment buildings deciding on legislation that could affect her tenants.

In his court affidavit, Lamont said Stefanson didn’t recuse herself from voting on the bill that included changing the Residential Tenancies Act so tenants could object only to rent increases above the maximum permitted by regulation. Critics argued the legislation made it harder for renters to appeal increases imposed by their landlords.

“What keeps happening in Manitoba is that no one’s ever held to account for their mistakes,” said Lamont. “There’s a long history of scandals — whether it’s the police headquarters or it’s Crocus (venture capital fund), where everyone knows something happened, everyone knows what went wrong and a lot of times people know who did it — and no one is ever held to account and no one ever faces the consequences.”

Under the current law, it’s not easy to hold an MLA with an alleged conflict to account. A voter must go to Court of Queen’s Bench and pay $300 to file a detailed affidavit asking a judge to authorize a hearing before another judge. If the hearing is granted and the judge determines conflict of interest rules were broken, the member could be suspended for up to 90 days, pay a fine of up to $5,000, be removed from office and have to pay restitution to the government or Crown agency for any financial gain that resulted from the violation.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca