Manitoba NDP call for ethics probe into alleged attempt to rush silica sand mine approval

Manitoba's governing New Democrats are asking the provincial ethics commissioner to investigate the Progressive Conservatives over a proposed mining project.

NDP caucus chair Mike Moyes said people deserve to know the facts behind accusations one or more Tories tried to rush approval of the Sio Silica mining project after the Tories lost the Oct. 3 election.

"The PCs tried to make a major decision on behalf of the people who had voted them out," Moyes said Friday.

Two former cabinet ministers -- Kevin Klein and Rochelle Squires -- have said they were called by economic development minister Jeff Wharton days after the election loss. They say Wharton asked them to approve the mining project before the new NDP government could be sworn in on Oct. 18.

Klein and Squires both say they refused, and the mining project remains under review.

Wharton has denied the accusation, and has said he was simply gathering information about the mining project to pass on to the incoming government.

Squires, in an opinion piece published in the Winnipeg Free Press, also said Wharton told her outgoing premier Heather Stefanson wanted the project to proceed but couldn't give the order herself because she was in a potential conflict of interest.

Wharton has denied that accusation as well. Stefanson has yet to answer questions on the issue, and her staff has rejected interview requests.

A statement issued through the Tory caucus last month said Stefanson respected due process.

The caucus issued another statement Friday that said all decisions were left to the incoming government.

"The members in question will co-operate fully with any potential investigation by the ethics commissioner," the statement said.

Moyes said any attempt to push through the project after the election loss was wrong. The move would violate a long-standing constitutional principle known as the caretaker convention, which forbids outgoing governments from making most major decisions during the transition period, he said.

Moyes filed two complaints to the ethics commissioner -- one against Wharton and one against Stefanson.

"Violating the caretaker convention to advance the interests of a private company by issuing a licence is improper for the purposes of the (Conflict of Interest) Act, and wrong, and should be deemed a violation," Moyes wrote in both complaints.

The NDP complaints are based on media reports. The party has not produced any documents to file to the ethics commissioner or found supporting material since taking office.

The conflict act forbids legislature members from exercising "an official power, duty or function that provides an opportunity to further their private interests or those of their family or to improperly further another person's private interests."

There are exceptions, however, such as activities normally made on behalf of constituents.

Klein said he supports the call for an ethics investigation and will co-operate with the probe.

"We have to hold people in office accountable, and that's something that I think is missing in politics," he said.

The Sio Silica project would create thousands of wells over 24 years across a large swath of southeastern Manitoba, although only an initial phase is being reviewed for approval now.

Manitoba's environmental regulator, the Clean Environment Commission, recommended against any decision on the mining project in June, pending further study of the project's impacts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2024