Conflicting interests

Charlottetown-Parkdale MLA questions why two of seven recommendations left out of proposed Conflict of Interest amendments

Members of the public should be able to report MLAs they believe may be in a conflict of interest, says Charlottetown-Parkdale MLA Hannah Bell.

Bell is questioning why that measure was not included in proposed legislation tabled by Justice Minister Jordan Brown to amend the Conflict of Interest Act.

There are currently two draft pieces of legislation to update the act, one tabled by Bell and another by Brown, based on recommendations made two years ago by P.E.I. conflict of interest commissioner John McQuaid.

During Tuesday’s question period, Bell asked why “the two most important” of those seven recommendations were not included in Brown’s bill.

“The opportunity (for the public to report MLAs) needs to be there because it’s in the interest of openness and transparency,” Bell said during an interview with The Guardian.

Apart from the ability for members of the public to report MLAs, Bell said Brown’s bill also omitted the commissioner’s recommendation to extend the “cooling off” period for cabinet ministers from six to 12 months.

Brown said his bill was drafted by the legislative management committee, which includes members of all three parties and is chaired by Speaker Buck Watts.

Bell asked if Brown tabled the legislation without first inquiring why the committee rejected two recommendations or “even checking to see if all parties were in agreement.”

“Government members have been known to use their majority on committees to push through their own agenda over the objections of other members,” said Bell, who asked if all committee members agreed to ignore two of the commissioner’s recommendations.

Brown said he was “troubled’ by the line of questioning and that he didn’t consider himself in a position to question Watts’ authority when asked to advance the bill.

He said he understood the draft was the “will of the committee” and that sponsoring the bill to get it to the floor for debate was the “proper process.”

“I’m not in a position to begin to question the will (of the committee),” said Brown during question period.

“I advanced that bill as a government minister… on behalf of that committee and out of respect for the chair of that committee and the committee itself.”

Both Bell and Brown’s bills provide better clarification over what would be considered a private interest for an MLA.

Both bills would also require MLAs accepting a gift over $200 to report it, with the current amount being $500.

“It’s unfortunate we’ve had this kind of doubling of resources, but we’d like to see the legislation enacted because it’s in the best interest of Islanders to do so,” said Bell.