21-05-2025
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.
