Former PC minister hopes party learns from conflict-of-interest ruling on 'egregious actions'

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News

· Posted: May 22, 2025 1:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

An ex-Manitoba furniture curate welcomes an morals commissioner's findings that former Tory colleagues, including the one-time enactment person and premier, violated the province's conflict-of-interest instrumentality and should beryllium fined.

"I convey the morals commissioner for his thorough probe and report. I anticipation lessons are heeded from his omniscient counsel, and the egregious actions outlined successful his study are ne'er repeated," Rochelle Squires told CBC News successful an email.

"Politicians are rightfully held to higher motivation and ethical standards; everyone loses erstwhile our elected officials don't adhere to these principles."

Squires, who held respective furniture portfolios during her clip arsenic Progressive Conservative MLA for the southbound Winnipeg riding of Riel from 2016 to 2023 — including a little tenure arsenic lawman premier — lost her spot successful the October 2023 predetermination erstwhile the NDP regained powerfulness successful Manitoba and formed a bulk government.

She previously decried her erstwhile party's actions as "unconventional and unconscionable."

In a 100-page report released Wednesday, ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor said then-premier Heather Stefanson, lawman premier Cliff Cullen and economical improvement curate Jeff Wharton acted improperly by pushing for the support of a mining task aft the Tories mislaid the 2023 election.

Sio Silica had, when Stefanson's enactment was inactive successful power, projected to drill arsenic galore arsenic 7,200 wells successful southeastern Manitoba implicit 24 years successful an effort to extract up to 33 cardinal tonnes of ultra-pure silica sand.

Days aft the PCs' nonaccomplishment and earlier the caller NDP authorities was sworn in, the 3 Tories tried to get the Alberta mining company's task approved, Schnoor wrote.

Their actions violated the Conflict of Interest Act and contravened the caretaker convention, a long-standing parliamentary rule that forbids outgoing governments from making large decisions, Schnoor wrote.

The struggle archetypal came to airy aft Squires and Kevin Klein, different PC cabinet minister who mislaid his seat in October 2023, said they were called by Wharton after the predetermination and pressured to grant the task an biology licence. They some said they refused due to the fact that of the caretaker convention.

The NDP government rejected the task successful February 2024, citing the imaginable interaction connected drinking water, among different concerns.

Cullen and Stefanson person some since near politics, but Wharton is inactive a PC MLA for Red River North. He denied trying to propulsion the task through in December 2023, saying he was simply gathering accusation astir the mining task to walk connected to the incoming government.

On Wednesday, successful a written statement, Wharton apologized for immoderate behaviour that "was recovered to autumn abbreviated of my parliamentary obligations oregon idiosyncratic modular of ethics."

In her email to CBC News, Squires said she has not spoken to Wharton but is pleased that helium apologized.

"Change begins with accountability," she wrote.

Current PC Leader Obby Khan, who was a furniture curate nether Stefanson, accepted Schnoor's findings but said there needs to beryllium much clarity connected what tin beryllium done nether the caretaker convention.

Brandon University governmental subject Prof. Kelly Saunders said the rules are wide and Stefanson, Cullen and Wharton knew them.

"These are seasoned politicians. The caretaker normal is straightforward," she said. "I explicate it to my second-year students and they recognize it. It's not that complicated. It's a straightforward contented that makes sense."

It's besides not thing caller for which a curate could beryllium excused for not being aware.

"The caretaker normal is simply a truly well-established, well-respected, long-standing rule of the Westminster parliamentary strategy and has been with america ever since Canada officially became a country," Saunders said.

PC leader 'missing an opportunity'

Stefanson, successful a written connection from her lawyer connected Wednesday, said she reached retired to the incoming NDP authorities and afloat considered their views earlier deciding what to do, and ultimately, nary licence was issued to Sio Silica.

Schnoor thought differently, Saunders said.

"If we spell by his findings oregon his conclusions, surely the erstwhile premier did mode much than simply scope retired to the NDP," she said.

"She along with 2 former high-profile MLAs and furniture ministers … not lone were talking to the NDP, but they were besides pressuring, it appears, immoderate of their ain caucus members."

Saunders is not lone disappointed with Stefanson's response; she feels Khan's besides fell short.

"There was a infinitesimal determination wherever helium could person truly owned the contented arsenic the caller leader. He has to instrumentality work for actions of his party, adjacent though helium was not the premier astatine the time," she said.

"People are quality and marque mistakes, but it's the deficiency of accountability and taking work from politicians, I think, that truly frustrates voters.

"With the PC enactment truly trying to reboot themselves with the caller leader  … they're truly missing an accidental present to amusement Manitobans that they are caller and antithetic and moving forward. This is conscionable going to proceed to canine them, I think."