Former federal cabinet minister, turned Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench judge, will face a review by the Canadian Judicial Council for allegations that he violated conflict of interest rules.

The claims against Vic Toews were first brought to light in a report released on Friday by Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson – two years after initial complaints were made about his post-cabinet activities.

The CJC said over the weekend they received an official complaint regarding Toews.

However, the council was considering opening a review before it received the grievance, which it is able to, even if a complaint is not directly made.

Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said Toews will remain a sitting judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench.

In a statement Joyal explained:
“The very specific and distinct jurisdiction and process of the Ethics Commissioner, whose jurisdiction, processes and related conclusions may be challenged by Justice Toews, are separate from the jurisdiction and focus of the Canadian Judicial Council. That separate Canadian Judicial Council process, to the extent that it will unfold in respect of Justice Toews, must be respected.”

The 41-page report made by Dawson found Toews was hired to do lobbying and consulting work on behalf of two First Nations in Manitoba in the months after he left office. The contracts violated two different aspects of the Conflict of Interest Act.

In one, Toews provided strategic legal advice to Peguis First Nation and even helped draft a settlement proposal to the federal government related to the Kapyong Barracks dispute in Winnipeg. In 2007, Toews was the minister who signed off on the sale of the former military barracks, and was later named as a defendant in a lawsuit from First Nations, including Peguis, about the sale.

In that instance, Toews violated the part of the act which bars cabinet ministers for life from doing work on an issue they handled while in office.

In the second matter, Toews violated Sec. 35 of the act because he signed a contract to provide consulting services for Norway House Cree Nation. His work included touching on a trust fund issue which the First Nation had lobbied him directly about on two occasions less than a year earlier.

Former cabinet ministers are prevented from working for an entity which lobbied them while in government for two years after leaving office.

Toews represented the Manitoba riding of Provencher for the Conservatives from 2000 to 2013, and was a senior minister in the Conservative cabinet from 2006 until his resignation on July 9, 2013.

In the spring of 2014 he was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench in Manitoba by his former cabinet colleague, Justice Minister Peter MacKay.

With files from The Canadian Press.