‘He cleared me’
Conflict of interest commissioner denies clearing former justice minister Jordan Brown over return to law firm job
Former justice minister Jordan Brown briefly returned to work at his former law firm over the summer, prior to the expiration of a six-month cooling off period set out in the Conflict of Interest Act.
Brown lost his Charlottetown-Brighton seat to the Greens’ Ole Hammarlund during the April 23 provincial election. By August, he was listed as a lawyer on the website of Cox & Palmer, his former law firm.
The province’s Conflict of Interest Act restricts former ministers from knowingly accepting contracts from “any person who received a contract or benefit from a department of which the former minister was the minister” for a six-month period after they cease to hold office.
A Freedom of Information request, filed by The Guardian, found Cox & Palmer received a total of $77,977 in contracts from the Department of Justice and Public Safety between January 10, 2018 and May 9, 2019, the period of Brown’s tenure as minister.
The law firm received 60 contracts in total during this time period. About $31,150 of the money related to legal aid services, which did not relate to a specific invoice date. Other contracts varied from a $41 contract for family law services in May 2018 to a $4,028.60 contract for unspecified services in March of 2019.
Cox & Palmer also received a single $1,964.39 contract from Department of Education and Lifelong Learning while Brown was minister of that department.
The Act states that contravention of the section related to a cooling off period could constitute an offence and could result in a fine of as much as $10,000.
Reached on Aug. 1, Brown initially told The Guardian he had met with the province’s conflict of interest commissioner prior to returning to work at Cox & Palmer.
“I met with the conflict of interest commissioner, and he cleared me for the work that I’m doing,” Brown said.
“During my time as minister of Justice, I do not recall Cox & Palmer doing any work for that department.”
On Monday, Brown told The Guardian he had subsequently looked into the matter and discovered contracts between Cox & Palmer and his former department of Education and Lifelong Learning. He clarified that the commissioner did not have the ability to “clear” him for work after his tenure as minister.
Brown said he met with the province’s conflict of interest commissioner again in the summer, and subsequently resigned from his position at the law firm. He said he did nothing wrong.
“I resigned immediately, as soon as I realized there was a file,” Brown said.
“I chose to resign rather than take the chance.”
Brown said the cooling off period expires on November 10. He plans to return to the firm after this point.
The Guardian reached out to John McQuaid, the province’s conflict of interest commissioner. McQuaid confirmed he had met with Brown, prior to Brown returning to work at Cox & Palmer, but disputed that he had “cleared” Brown.
“The act doesn’t provide that we clear,” McQuaid said.
“I don’t clear. It’s up to the member to comply with the act.”
McQuaid said he had no knowledge of contracts between Brown’s former department and Cox & Palmer prior to meeting with Brown.
When asked if the timing of Brown’s return to Cox & Palmer would constitute a conflict of interest under the Act, McQuaid declined to comment.
Responsibility for enforcement of the Conflict of Interest Act does not lie solely with the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. The Act states that, in cases of sitting members, another member can request the commissioner give an opinion on a possible conflict of interest. The legislative assembly may also pass a resolution requesting the commissioner determine whether the Act has been contravened by a sitting member.
However, the Act does not explicitly outline a procedure for what circumstances would prompt the commissioner to examine the conduct of a former minister, during the six-month period after they leave office.