ETHICS WATCHDOG CHIDES CEO OF NCC FOR 12 VIOLATIONS

The federal ethics watchdog says the head of an agency overseeing important federal sites in and around Ottawa violated conflict-of-interest rules a dozen times. Mario Dion’s report, issued Wednesday, says Mark Kristmanson, CEO of the National Capital Commission, ran afoul of ethics standards when he accepted invitations to events from organizations with official business ties to the commission. The organizations include the National Arts Centre, the Canadian Museum of Nature, Via Rail and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Kristmanson was “personally involved” in decisions about construction projects at the arts centre and nature museum, the approval of Via Rail’s design for Ottawa’s train station, as well as the society’s lease of a prized federal property at 50 Sussex Dr., on the Ottawa River.