Minister found in violation of conflict-of-interest law

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This article was published 20/09/2024 (441 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba cabinet minister Ian Bushie said he would sell his family business after the ethics commissioner ruled he had violated the conflict-of-interest law.

“The ethics commissioner did not require me to do this, but I’ve decided to sell my business and I’m in the process of doing that as we speak,” the municipal and northern relations minister said at a hastily called news conference Thursday. “Upon reflection, I want to go above and beyond.”

His business — Grandpa George’s gas station and convenience store in Hollow Water First Nation, the largest in the area — renewed a contract with the provincial government on April 1, which violates the law, commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor wrote in the report.

“Being part of this team means being accountable,” said Bushie, who is responsible for Indigenous economic development, as he was flanked by three NDP caucus members.

“Selling my business shows my (unequivocal) commitment to my role on this team. It’s important to show that I’m taking full responsibility for what has happened here.”

The MLA for Keewatinook has owned the store in his home community since August 1996. He is the lone proprietor of the shop but told the commissioner he plays no part in its day-to-day operations, which are overseen by a manager.

The business had a government contract for many years to provide groceries and supplies to workers who fight wildfires in the area for many years.

Contracts in existence at the time of an MLA’s election are permitted, but renewals and extensions are not. MLAs must also include any contracts with the government in their disclosure statements, and Bushie contravened the law by failing to do so, the report said, adding the facts of the complaint are not a matter of dispute.

The law took effect Oct. 4, 2023.

The total amount the government paid to Grandpa George’s in 2023-24 was $1,872.19. In this fiscal year, the store has billed $105.12. It has billed $183,982.96 since the 2012-14 fiscal year, the report stated.

The report found Bushie’s contraventions were inadvertent and noted he “apologized and accepted responsibility for his error.”

“I therefore recommend that no penalty be imposed,” Schnoor wrote in the report.

His investigation was conducted based on a June 3 request filed by Progressive Conservative caucus chairman Greg Nesbitt, MLA for Riding Mountain. Interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko asked Premier Wab Kinew in question period that day to remove Bushie from his duties until the investigation had concluded.

Ewasko accused the NDP of “self-enrichment at the cabinet table” and “sliding $100,000 cheques across the cabinet table.”

Bushie told reporters that day that the long-running agreement allowed for his store to provide up to $100,000 in groceries and supplies but the business never came close to billing the natural resources department that amount. The largest amount billed in a fiscal year was $44,549.80 in 2021-22.

The agreement with the store was cancelled by the government on June 3, the day the PCs raised the matter in the legislative assembly, Bushie said Thursday.

The PCs said Thursday the party was satisfied with the commissioner’s investigation but said the violation shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

» Winnipeg Free Press