Amid allegations that Rahim Jaffer sought government grants to pump up the value of companies reserved for him and former Minister Helena Guergis, Liberal MPs are demanding answers from Conservative Minister Gail Shea about why she failed to disclose her involvement in a lucrative government clean energy grant received by her son-in-law in her home province of Prince Edward Island.
“If Minister Shea successfully obtained funding for this project, it puts her in a clear conflict of interest,” said Liberal Ethics Critic Marlene Jennings. “She’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.”
The Wind Energy Institute of Canada in PEI stands to receive $10-20 million from the federal Clean Energy Fund for a nine-megawatt wind farm. Minister Shea’s son-in-law is the CEO of the Institute. In a January interview, Minister Shea described a PEI wind power hookup as important and stated she plans on “making the case for the project to her cabinet colleagues in Ottawa.” (CBC, January 15, 2010)
“Minister Shea is the political minister for PEI, the project is in her riding, and her son-in-law is the CEO of the company receiving the grant,” said PEI Liberal MP Wayne Easter. “The rules could not be more clear-cut: Minister Shea should have recused herself from any involvement in this project as her immediate family stands to benefit, and she must also make this known to the public.”
The Conflict of Interest Act requires ministers to formally recuse themselves from decisions involving a conflict of interest and “make a public declaration of the recusal that provides sufficient detail to identify the conflict of interest that was avoided.”
Despite the fact that Minister Shea now claims that she disclosed her relationship to Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, no formal public record of recusal disclosing Minister Shea’s conflict of interest with her son-in-law exists, as required by law.
“Minister Shea’s claim raises serious questions about conflicts of interest in the Conservative government,” said Ms. Jennings. “Has Commissoner Dawson created a secret bureaucratic process to sweep conflicts of interest under the carpet, in contravention with the Conflict of Interest Act? Has she allowed the Minister to obtain funds that put her in a blatant conflict of interest? What additional Conservative conflicts of interest have been covered up?”
“One thing is clear: last week, Helena Guergis was dumped from Conservative cabinet and caucus for alleged unethical activity, and now we have another government minister engaging in questionable behaviour,” concluded Mr. Easter. “The Conservatives’ recent behavior displays an increasingly arrogant double standard: one set of rules for themselves, and another set of rules for everyone else.”
