Nesbitt vowed to pay $1M to bail out niece

WINNIPEG — A western Manitoba lawmaker whose party championed legislation to protect students from predatory educators pledged more than $1 million to post bail for his niece while the former teacher appealed her sexual assault conviction, the Winnipeg Free Press has learned.

Greg Nesbitt, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Riding Mountain and a cabinet minister in the former Tory government, said in a sworn statement he was willing to pay whatever the court deemed appropriate for bail after Chasity Findlay, a former high school teacher convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault of a then 15-year-old student, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024.

Her appeal of the conviction is scheduled to be heard Monday.

“This is a private family matter,” Nesbitt said in a brief statement to the Free Press this week. “I don’t comment on personal matters.”

Tory Leader Obby Khan defended his MLA’s actions.

“I think MLA Nesbitt did whatever any loving uncle, aunt or relative would do for their niece,” Khan said in a statement.

“There was an opportunity for his niece to be granted bail — pending her appeal. The same opportunity for bail is afforded to anyone under the justice system — and MLA Nesbitt provided that surety.”

The judge ultimately set the surety at $7,500, despite Nesbitt declaring in a sworn affidavit he had more than $1 million in savings and investments and a mortgage-free home.

Ethics experts argue that an elected official cannot neatly sever their public influence from their private life.

Arthur Schafer, founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba, noted that while Nesbitt’s actions may not meet a strict definition of a legal conflict of interest — which usually requires proof of behind-the-scenes lobbying or financial gain — they represent a troubling moral choice.

“He is not just providing the money for his niece, but he’s doing so in a public way,” Schafer said. “He has given a kind of public endorsement of his niece. He’s lending his reputation, and the goodwill that has accrued to him in his role as a prominent businessperson, and prominent and successful community leader and as a member of the legislative assembly and the Conservative caucus.”

By attaching his name and his seven-digit investment holdings to the court proceedings, Schafer argued Nesbitt has chosen to spend his political and social capital assisting a convicted abuser.

It forces the community to decide whether he put “family loyalty ahead of protecting children,” Schafer said.

Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch and an expert in government accountability, agreed the situation illustrates the chasm between what is legal and what is ethical in Manitoba politics.

“There’s a famous cartoon with a crossroads,” Conacher said. “One arrow pointing one direction says ethical, and the other arrow pointing in the opposite direction says legal.”

Under the province’s current conflict-of-interest rules, Nesbitt did not break any laws, Conacher said, though he added there are loopholes in the legislation.

“All laws are general and apply to a broad group of people, so the law just does not apply 99 per cent of the time,” he said. “But, fortunately, in this area, the public’s confidence and public trust is based on appearances, and if something smells, it smells.”

The charges involving Findlay stem from a relationship that began in 2015 when the victim, who was in Grade 10, confessed he had feelings for his Winnipeg-area high school teacher. Findlay, who was twice his age at 30 years old, said she had similar feelings.

During the November 2023 trial, the victim testified they were having sex at least twice week. The judge rejected Findlay’s defence that she was the victim of extortion and rape, and characterized her testimony as evasive and exaggerated.

Her appeal centres on the admissibility of text messages that were used as key evidence in the trial. In those messages, Findlay expressed her deep love for the victim and discussed a future together.

In the lead-up to the trial and while still in government, the PCs branded themselves as the defender of classroom safety. Before losing in the October 2023 election, the Tories had developed the framework of Bill 35, legislation designed to track teacher misconduct and protect students from predatory educators.

However, even though Findlay was arrested in 2021, her teaching certificate remained in good standing, while other educators had their certificates suspended or cancelled for lesser infractions under the watch of PC education ministers.

Findlay’s certificate was not cancelled until July 30, 2025 — only after the Free Press informed the NDP government that a convicted sex offender was still fully certified.

“The question then is: was she treated differently because she’s a relative of a Conservative MLA? It’s something that should be investigated,” Conacher said.

In discussing the optics of a current MLA supporting a convicted sex offender, Khan said the matter is still before the courts and that it would be inappropriate for him to comment further.

His defence of Nesbitt comes the same week the Tories heavily criticized the NDP government for failing to adequately address student safety following the sudden exit of Manitoba’s first independent commissioner on teacher professional conduct.

TOPLESS PHOTO CIRCULATED

The ethical concerns surrounding Nesbitt’s surety are compounded by the trajectory of Findlay’s career, which ultimately crossed into her uncle’s political riding.

Court documents from a 2021 civil lawsuit against Findlay and the Seine River School Division outline the timeline of the scandal. According to the division’s statement of defence, school officials became aware that a topless photo of Findlay was circulating following the student’s graduation.

The division claims in its statement that it was “not made aware of any alleged sexual contact” during its internal investigation into the photo. Instead of the matter being elevated to the police or child protection services, the division states it “accepted Findlay’s resignation.”

Findlay then transferred to the Rolling River School Division — located in Nesbitt’s rural constituency — to become a resource teacher at Rivers Elementary. She remained there until her arrest in December 2021, at which point she was placed on leave without pay.

She did not officially resign from the division until January 2024 — a month after she was convicted.

“It’s alarming that such prominent red flags could appear, and none of the people whose responsibility it is to protect children seems to have acted in any way,” Schafer said.

While there is no evidence linking Nesbitt to Findlay’s hiring in Rolling River, Schafer said public officials have a duty to not turn a blind eye to abuse in their own backyards.

“If he knew, or if he could have known but chose not to know, then he’s blameworthy,” Schafer said. “It’s not a conflict of interest, but it’s a failure of obligation.”

Christy Dzikowicz, the CEO of Toba Centre for Children and Youth, questioned why the school didn’t dig deeper to find out how a teacher’s nude photo was circulating or how her sudden exit didn’t raise red flags.

“The second a school gets wind of anything that could be a risk to children, it should be reported and investigated — not minimized, not dodged and definitely not treated as somebody else’s problem,” Dzikowicz said. “Schools have a responsibility to dig in, report it and investigate it. Anything less is lazy at best, and a real disservice to children.”

Schafer questioned why the Department of Education left her teaching permit intact despite being criminally charged and then convicted.

“There’s been, to date, a striking lack of accountability,” Schafer said, adding that the school divisions, government, opposition Tories and Nesbitt should explain what they knew and why they failed to act at various junctures.

“Parents, students, and the broader community are entitled to know why the schools, the school divisions and the Department of Education have been so slow in acting. And Greg Nesbitt should be accountable.”

» Winnipeg Free Press