3 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tory claims against cabinet minister Moroz baseless, ethics commissioner rules
Cabinet Minister Mike Moroz did not violate conflict of interest laws in his personal handling of Telus shares, the ethics commissioner has ruled.
The office of Jeffrey Schnoor released the findings Wednesday of its recent probe into the NDP MLA for River Heights, who is minister for innovation and new technology.
The Tories had accused Moroz of wrongdoing for owning shares in Telus and said he used confidential information about a tragic March 22-24 service outage to inform his decision to sell them.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz
Moroz issued a statement thanking the commissioner for his prompt investigation that 'accurately reflects that I am innocent of the PC's harmful allegations.'
'I look forward to being able to return to focusing on the important matters in my portfolio, including holding the telecom companies accountable for ensuring that Manitobans have timely access to 911 services when they need it,' the minister said.
MLAs are not prohibited from buying into a publicly traded corporation.
Schnoor pointed that out in his 13-page report, as well as the fact that Telus is regulated by the federal government.
'There is no evidence that Minister Moroz had any confidential information that was not available to the public,' he wrote, referencing the MLA's decision to sell 500 shares in Telus on May 8.
The commissioner noted that Moroz received $10,391.25, which translated into a loss of $1,591.75, after the transaction and followed proper disclosure protocols. He first invested in Telus in April 2021, before he was an MLA.
Dean Switzer, a 55-year-old from the Fisher Branch area, died of a heart attack on March 23 while his loved ones repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to call 911 on their cellphones.
Two months later, following debate on the subject in the legislature and learning that Moroz had cut his financial ties to Telus, PC MLA Konrad Narth requested an ethics investigation.
Narth alleged his colleague should not have owned shares in Telus in the first place and leveraged his position of power for his own financial interests.
Schnoor dismissed all of Narth's allegations involving sections two, three and four of the Conflict of Interest (Members and Ministers) Act.
His report deemed Moroz's interest in Telus as 'very small' in the context of the company's overall valuation.
'Moroz's interest in Telus was so remote and insignificant that it cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to have influenced him,' the ethics commissioner wrote.
When reached by phone Wednesday, Narth said he accepted the commissioner's findings, but questions remained unanswered.
'If there was no red flag here, why would you be selling at a loss?' he said, noting that he has not received clarity about why Moroz decided to sell his shares.
Narth said he hopes this is a learning opportunity for the minister and NDP caucus.
'The public's ruling of politicians' integrity is more important than the commissioner's ruling, in my opinion,' he said.
Schnoor's detailed timeline indicates Moroz learned about the March 23 fatality from a journalist on April 3.
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The day after an article was published, Moroz wrote to the president of Telus to express concerns on behalf of Manitoba and he received a reply two days later on April 11.
Aside from that exchange, the minister's direct correspondence with Telus was limited to an in-person meeting on May 15 — multiple days after he sold his shares, Schnoor found.
The ethics commissioner repeatedly noted that publicly available information about the outage was posted on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission website.
Telus has revealed its roughly 40-hour outage, which began around 8:15 p.m. on March 22, affected 117 calls made by 59 individual Manitobans.
Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter
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