Clam conflict confirmed
Ethics commissioner says cabinet minister was in conflict over surf clam licence
Canada’s federal ethics watchdog ruled today that Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc violated the conflict of interest act when he approved an Arctic surf clam licence to a company employing a family member.
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said in a report today that LeBlanc knew his wife’s first cousin was involved in the Five Nations Clam Co. and would have benefited financially when he awarded the company a multimillion-dollar licence in February and should have recused himself from the decision.
“If a public office holder is aware of a potential opportunity to further the private interests of a relative through the exercise of an official power, duty or function, the public office holder must be vigilant in avoiding such conflicts of interest.’’
The decision comes less than two months after the government cancelled the decision and started the process over to award a fourth Arctic surf clam licence to encourage Indigenous participation.
Speaking to reporters in Saskatoon, where Liberal MPs are gathered for a caucus retreat, LeBlanc says he accepts Dion’s findings “without reservation.’’
“Canadians expect when mistakes are made that people assume those mistakes and, more importantly, commit to doing better in the future and that’s exactly what I’m doing.’’
However, he also qualified that Dion’s ruling “confirms that no financial benefit was created in this circumstance and no preferential treatment was given.’’
The deal to award a fourth fishing
licence for Arctic surf clams would have ended a 19-year monopoly on the Arctic clam fishery held by Clearwater Seafoods and offered 25 per cent of the catch to local Indigenous communities.
But it came under scrutiny after court documents suggested the company did not meet the federal government’s initial eligibility requirements, and that the company had close ties to the federal Liberal party — including the family ties to LeBlanc, and also connections to one current and one former Liberal MP.
LeBlanc was shuffled out as fisheries minister in July, the same month the government decided to cancel the licence and start the process over.
Cancelling the licence means Clearwater Seafoods will continue their monopoly at least until 2020.
Court documents show LeBlanc
awarded the licence to Five Nations in February despite knowing the bid didn’t meet all the parameters of the tender.
In his submissions to Dion, LeBlanc argued that he is not close with Theriault and that he did not believe Theriault’s spousal ties would define him as a relative within the conflict of interest law.
Dion disagreed with this, and also noted LeBlanc had met with Theriault prior to awarding the clam licence to Five Nations, during which time they discussed the issue.
“The inclusion of Mr. Theriault’s name in the proposal, while no doubt adding to its credibility due to his extensive involvement in the seafood industry and with First Nations in New Brunswick, should have put Mr. LeBlanc on notice of the existence of a potential conflict,’’ Dion writes in his ruling.