EDMONTON – Alberta’s Ethics Commissioner, Neil Wilkinson, has confirmed he will investigate Premier Alison Redford over a possible breach of the Conflict of Interest Act in relation to her role in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit contract being awarded to her ex-husband’s law firm.
After receiving a request for an investigation from Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman, Wilkinson launched an investigation into the Premier after it was revealed that, as Minister of Justice, she awarded a tobacco litigation contract to a consortium of law firms which includes that of her ex-husband. The lucrative contract stems from the government’s $10 billion lawsuit against tobacco manufacturers.
Last year, Sherman called for Redford to step aside until an independent public inquiry into her alleged involvement in the ‘tobacco-gate’ scandal had been conducted.
NDP Leader Brian Mason has said he’d never seen a scandal like this in all his time in elected office, and called for Alison Redford to step aside as premier pending a thorough investigation.
Wildrose house leader Rob Anderson also called it the worst scandal to ever hit the Premier’s office.
“This is something that could likely defeat the premier, either before the election or by the next election,” he said. “It is the biggest scandal in the premier’s office in history, period. Certainly in my lifetime.”
Alberta’s Opposition Wildrose party is now saying that it would like to see the Ethics Commissioner implement sanctions against the Premier for what it believes was a violation of the Conflict of Interest Act, which prohibits a member from using her office to make a decision that improperly furthers another person’s private interest..
Wildrose Justice Critic Shayne Saskiw will also be sending a letter to Alberta’s Justice Minister and Solicitor General, Jonathan Denis, demanding that further action on the litigation contract be immediately suspended until the Ethics Commissioner completes his investigation of the Premier’s involvement in the matter.
“Taxpayers are in the dark on whether or not they received the best deal,” Saskiw said in a release on Monday. “We hope that proper sanctions are handed out for any wrongdoing and that all litigation activity for this case is suspended and the contract appropriately retendered.”
The Wildrose said it will send the Ethics Commissioner what it called “overwhelming evidence” that Redford was involved in awarding the lawsuit.
“The Premier was the primary decision maker,” Anderson said. “If this is not a breach of our ethics legislation, then we may as well just throw out the entire Act.”
New Democrat Leader Brian Mason said he is pleased that the Ethics Commissioner is looking into the allegations and hopes that the review will be thorough.
“While the Premier repeatedly claimed that she wasn’t involved in the decision, all of the evidence suggests otherwise.”
Redford has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said she welcomes an investigation. In November, she told the Alberta legislature that accusations that she was in conflict of interest over the tobacco litigation contract were “absolutely inaccurate and false.”
Brad Odsen, a lawyer for the Ethics Commissioner’s office, said the investigation will focus on whether Redford breached Section 2 of Alberta’s Conflicts of Interest Act.
Section 2 deals with whether a decision made by a member of the legislature has benefited a person directly associated with the member.
Odsen said when the review is complete a report will be presented to the Alberta legislature.
If there is a conflict, the report may recommend sanctions including a reprimand, a financial penalty or suspending or expelling a member from the legislature.
Any recommended sanction would be put to members of the legislature for a vote.
Odsen said the public should not read anything into the fact that the ethics commissioner is investigating.
“This office has a duty when a request for an investigation is made,” he said. “We don’t know at this point if there are any serious grounds or not.”
Late Monday afternoon, Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Jonathan Denis, issued the following statement in response to the investigation being conducted by the Ethics Commissioner:
“As Premier Redford stated earlier, she welcomes the review by the Ethics Commissioner and the Government of Alberta stands by our intention to recover money owed to Albertans by big tobacco, who for years misled people about the dangers of smoking. That is what this is about. That is what we’re fighting for.
The facts here are clear – a contract was signed with International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers in June 2011, four months after Premier Redford had left cabinet to run for leader. The decision to retain this consortium was based on merit:
• The consortium offered the lowest cost of all bids received and was in the best interests of taxpayers. If this lawsuit is not successful, the Alberta taxpayers pay nothing;
• The consortium includes numerous lawyers who have successfully litigated against and settled with big tobacco;
• The consortium offered to work exclusively for Alberta, despite being in demand to work on behalf of other jurisdictions including the Government of Nunavut.
For each of these reasons, we welcome the review by the Ethics Commissioner and remain focused on standing up for the best interests of Albertans.”
You can read the exchange between the Ethics Commissioner and Liberal Leader Raj Sherman below.
With files from The Canadian Press
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