Court to hear Stefanson conflict of interest complaint in new year By: Carol Sanders Posted: 7:00 PM CST Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2022 (756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A complaint against Premier Heather Stefanson claiming she broke provincial conflict of interest rules will be heard early in the new year, a Court of King’s Bench justice has ruled.

In a court affidavit filed Nov. 21, the premier admitted to failing to disclose the sale of $31 million in property in 2016 and 2019, an apparent violation of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Conflict of Interest Act. Early this year, Stefanson told media the oversight was “inadvertent.”

“That’s not a defence in court,” Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont, who launched the legal complaint, said Wednesday outside the Winnipeg courtroom.

The member for St. Boniface paid a $300 court fee and filed an affidavit outlining details of the alleged violation of the act, in order to ask a judge to authorize a hearing. It’s the only remedy available under current legislation to hold an MLA accountable under the act.

If a judge determines conflict of interest rules were broken, the MLA could be suspended for up to 90 days, pay a fine of up to $5,000, be removed from office and have to pay restitution to the government or Crown agency for any financial gain that resulted from the violation.

On Wednesday, Justice Herbert Rempel authorized a hearing to take place Feb. 13.

The premier’s lawyer agreed to the hearing but not that the premier violated the act. “We are not conceding that there’s a reasonable case to be made,” Jonathan Kroft told the judge.

“What we’ve done is establish that there’s a case that’s serious enough for it to be heard in front of a judge,. We’ll see where it goes from there, but I’m looking forward to it.”–Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont

Later, Lamont said a judge agreeing to hear the complaint indicates otherwise.

“What we’ve done is establish that there’s a case that’s serious enough for it to be heard in front of a judge,” the Liberal leader said. “We’ll see where it goes from there, but I’m looking forward to it.”

The premier’s press secretary said it would be inappropriate for her to comment as the matter is before the court. Stefanson did not attend Wednesday’s court gathering.

On Jan. 27, the Free Press reported the premier breached the conflict of interest act by failing to disclose the sale or disposal of $31 million worth of property.

In 2019, the McDonald Grain Company Ltd. — Stefanson is listed as a director — sold the Ritz apartment block at 859 Grosvenor Ave. for $7 million and Drury Manor at 1833 Pembina Hwy. for $22.5 million. Stefanson did not file a statement disclosing the disposal of assets within the 30-day window required.

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Stefanson admits breaking conflict-of-interest rules

In 2016, she failed to disclose the disposal of a storage facility on Saulteaux Crescent that McDonald Grain sold for $1.78 million. Stefanson owns 20 per cent of the shares in the real estate holding company.

Stefanson told the Free Press it was an oversight, and later apologized.

In April, Lamont asked the court to hear whether or not she violated the act.

In her Nov. 21 court affidavit, the premier acknowledged the act requires members to file a disclosure form when they dispose of properties.

At that time, however, “I simply did not direct my mind to whether the act required (it).” Her failure to comply with the legislation was “inadvertent” and she only became aware of violating the act when media made inquiries in early 2022.

In October 2018, Stefanson participated in a standing committee on social and economic development meeting when one of the matters under consideration was Bill 12 (Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act). It included proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.

Lamont’s application further accuses the premier of a second breach of the act by not withdrawing from committee meetings she allegedly had pecuniary interest in.

In October 2018, Stefanson participated in a standing committee on social and economic development meeting when one of the matters under consideration was Bill 12 (Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act). It included proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. Critics argued the legislation made it harder for renters to appeal increases imposed by their landlords.

At the time, Lamont objected to Stefanson’s participation, saying it would be a conflict of interest for her to vote on the matter because of her connection to rental properties held by McDonald Grain.

When Lamont raised the matter again in 2018, during question period, then-premier Brian Pallister responded by saying when there are issues that apply broadly to thousands of Manitobans, members shouldn’t be disqualified from voting.

Pallister told the house a member who is a landlord isn’t in a conflict when they vote on amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, in the same way a member who is a farmer wouldn’t be in a conflict of interest if they voted on a piece of legislation that impacts agriculture, according to Hansard transcripts included with Stefanson’s affidavit.

In her filing, Stefanson said she had already consulted in 2016 with conflict of interest commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor about her involvement with the real estate holding company while she served as justice minister.

She was not involved with the day-to-day operations of the apartment buildings, which were managed by a third-party property firm, it said.

“The commissioner advised me that the interests of McDonald Grain in the apartment buildings did not create a conflict of interest that required me to recuse myself from decisions related to the RTA,” Stefanson said in the affidavit.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.

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