Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey is no longer involved in the Clayton Miller case.
Miller’s lifeless body was found in a New Waterford, N.S., brook on May 6, 1990.
He was just 17 years old.
READ: Family still searching for answers nearly 3 decades after Clayton Miller’s death
The Justice Department confirmed on Friday that Furey asked the Conflict of Interest Commissioner to determine if he would be in a conflict should he be requested to make any decisions in the Miller case.
The reason is that Furey’s father, a former superintendent with the RCMP, was involved in the investigation many years ago.
According to Sarah Gillis, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, the “Commissioner advised that Minister Furey may be in a perceived conflict of interest and recommended that another Minister be appointed to assume responsibility for this matter.”
Furey will not make any decisions regarding the Clayton Miller file.
Gillis says Minister Lena Diab has now been appointed to make decisions related to the case “to maintain the integrity of the file and public confidence and trust in the administration of justice.”
Gillis says there is no active work happening on this file within the department and that the appointment has been put in place to make decisions in the event they are required.
READ MORE: Clayton Miller death was accident: review
Clayton Miller was last seen alive at a party on May 4, 1990, which was raided by police.
The teen’s family was told his death was an accident but Clayton’s parents, Maureen and Gervase Miller, have never believed what officials have told them and have always maintained there was a cover-up in their son’s death.
For years, they have been pushing for answers and want their son’s case reopened.
Last July, the Millers held a press conference in Halifax, where a videotaped interview with former Cape Breton Search and Rescue co-ordinator Bryan McDonald was played. In it, McDonald said he and his team searched the day before, in the same area Miller’s body was found, but didn’t locate anything.
Maureen Miller said at the time, that the new witness account backs up their belief that their son’s body was moved.
WATCH: New witness account gives family hope in ’90s death of teen Clayton Miller
After the July press conference, SiRT said they reviewed the information from MacDonald to see if it justifies a reopening of SiRT’s investigation into the Clayton Miller case – but have concluded the information is “not reliable.”
SiRT has said the person who was interviewed and provided the information to the Millers is known to be “elderly and unwell” but admit that they never actually spoke to him.
WATCH: SiRT concludes new information ‘not reliable,’ no further investigation needed in Clayton Miller death
The Justice Department says there are no plans to reopen the Clayton Miller file.
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