Former Manitoba premier violated Conflict of Interest Act by pushing silica sand project: ethics commissioner
A report by Manitoba's ethics commissioner says former premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers acted improperly by pushing for the approval of a silica sand mining project.
The report says Stefanson, then-deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then-economic development minister Jeff Wharton tried to get approval for the Sio Silica project after the Tories lost the 2023 election, but before the new NDP government was to be sworn in.
Ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor says their actions violated the Conflict of Interest Act and contravened a long-standing parliamentary principle that forbids outgoing governments from making major decisions in most cases.
Schnoor is recommending penalties of between $10,000 and $18,000 per person, although the legislative assembly gets to make the final decision.
The mining project would have created thousands of wells over 24 years across a large swath of southeastern Manitoba, although only an initial phase was being considered for approval.
The NDP government rejected the project in February 2024, citing the potential impact on drinking water among other concerns.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
30 minutes ago
- CBC
What happens when a university faculty votes to divest from war?
U of T faculty and librarians have voted to divest their pension money from companies supporting human rights atrocities around the world, including Israel. In this edition of our series 'Toronto Explained,' CBC's Chris Glover breaks down what the vote means and whether divestment could actually happen.
CBC
40 minutes ago
- CBC
Montreal commuters frustrated, left with few options as STM strike disrupts service
Social Sharing Montreal transit users are caught in the middle of a conflict between the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and its maintenance workers. Many Montrealers, like Karen Chapman, are frustrated by the reduction in Metro and bus service. As a shipper in a warehouse for textiles, Chapman starts her shift at 7 a.m. — a mere 30 minutes after service begins during the strike. She wonders why commuters like herself should have to pay the price of this dispute. "It shouldn't be our fault," she said, highlighting the fact that Montrealers who use the bus and Metro won't get compensated for the price they pay for their monthly passes. "They should talk it out and figure out a way so that we don't hurt, the public," she said. "There's a lot of people that work hourly wages, so they will be docked." WATCH | Stranded commuters react to strike: How commuters are dealing with Montreal's public transit strike 4 hours ago Duration 1:25 Jacqueline Dixon, an orderly at a nursing home who works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. finds the situation "not fair" for anybody. "Not everybody has money to pay for an Uber, a taxi or rent a bicycle," she said. Now, instead of leaving her house an hour in advance, Dixon said she might have to leave two hours early. "We're not happy," she said. "We can't call in sick, there has to be a better solution." Maintenance workers with Montreal's transit authority launched a week-long strike on Monday, citing some of the STM's 130 demands that they find unacceptable — including the removal of 12-hour work days that contribute to many people's work-life balance. Buses and Metro cars started running at around 6:30 a.m. on Monday, about an hour later than usual. Many night and early shift workers were stranded, having no choice but to wait for the first bus or Metro. Juvenson Latus, a Montreal student and logistics technician, works at night and explained that although he waited for the first Metro car of the day to come, he couldn't even make it on. "When the first Metro arrived, it was so crowded, I couldn't get on it. I had to wait for another one," said Latus. "It's everyone who's hit by this, it's so hard." Ugox Saint works a split shift as a security guard. On Monday, he finished working at around 3 a.m. and was still at the Lionel-Groulx Metro station at 6 a.m. "We are begging the government to come to our aid because we can't do without them," said Saint.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Ottawa Jewish leaders decry 'brazen act of desecration' at National Holocaust Monument
Before the Ottawa Police Service confirmed that graffiti found at the National Holocaust Monument on Monday morning would be investigated as a hate crime, the vandalism had already drawn condemnation as an antisemitic attack. Article content Lawrence Greenspon, co-chair of the monument's governing committee, said the words 'FEED ME' painted on the wall and red paint splashed elsewhere left little room for interpretation. Article content Article content 'This is not graffiti,' he told National Post. 'This is a hate message and it comes from the hatred that is generated because of the consensus of many that Israel is to blame for the plight of the Gazans.' Article content Article content In a statement, Jewish Federation of Ottawa CEO and President Adam Silver called it 'a brazen act of desecration' that was more than just vandalism. Article content 'The Monument was built as a permanent reminder of the consequences of unchecked hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism,' he wrote. 'To see it defaced is to witness, once again, the persistence of those very forces in our own society.' Article content Both expressed shock that such a crime would occur in the nation's capital. Article content 'Is this what the 'pro-Palestinian movement has come to? Targeting victims of the Holocaust.' Article content Article content Ottawa, 2025 — CIJA (@CIJAinfo) June 9, 2025
