Sio Silica, which is trapped in “Stink” of the Tory ethics scandal, says Kinew – Winnipeg Free Press

The company, which was behind a controversial proposal for Silica -Sand behind a controversial proposal, was not the subject of an ethics examination, but the “stink” of unanswered questions from the former PC government must be released before the NDP government is considering a new proposal for the Silica -Silica -Sio, said Premier Wab Kinew.

“We have to clear the air,” said Kinew when we were asked on Thursday whether the province had a problem to approve a SIO -Silica project.

He said it was a “stink” from the former PC government that “occupies a pretty bad cloud and we have to clear the air”.

The company says that the investigation by ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor has cleared the air.

He concluded that former Prime Minister Heather Stefanson, her deputy Prime Minister Cliff Cullen, and the Minister of Economic Development, Jeff Wharton, broke the law by licensing the licensed license of the project in the dying days of the PC government at the end of 2023. It is a violation of the cardboard convention that a defeated government does not make the constitutional principle before the official of the index heads before the profit party officially participates in the event.

“We do not believe that the results of the ethics commissioner to advance our ability to promote future proposals or a revised plan for the Vivian location,” said Sio Silica. In July, the company announced that it would make another shot in developing a silica sandmine after its original plan had been rejected.

“After completing this review, we look forward to driving the regulatory process for our project,” said Carla Devlin, President of Sio Silica, in a prepared explanation of this week.

“We are obliged to open dialogue to open environmental responsibility and to achieve permanent economic advantages for Manitoba,” said the Mayor of East St. Paul, who over the PC leadership before becoming President of Sio Silica.

Since the results of the investigation were published on Wednesday, Kinew emphasized it during the question and in Scrums with reporters.

Two days after Stefanson and the PCs had lost the election on October 3, 2023, a deputy minister of the Environment Cullen said that the department would not spend a license for the SIO -Silica project in view of the caretaker's convention.

On October 6, the board member of Sio Silica David Filmon – a son of the former Tory Prime Minister Gary Filmon – sent a text to Cullen and asked: “Did we do it today?” And Cullen replied: “The bureaucracy did not mention that there would be a different result at the exhibition if the NDP won. I have a bad look. I feel sick. Work with Kathryn (Gerrard, the employee of the Executive Council).”

Stefanson and Cullen knew that the NDP was licensed to the project during the caretaker period, and Wharton was unsuccessful on October 12th – unsuccessfully the Minister of the PC Umwelt, Kevin Klein and Rochelle Squires to licens the project. The NDP government had not yet been sworn in.

On Thursday, Wharton apologized for his share in the scandal in the legislative assembly, but refused to face reporters to answer their questions.

Cullen did not answer a request for comment. Stefanson gave her lawyer an explanation in which she said she had done nothing wrong.

The investigation showed no evidence that they had financial benefits to act improperly and break against the convention of the caretaker.

“You have the right to know why you were so intended to ignore the results of the election so as not to properly operate further private interests,” said Kinew on Thursday. “As Manitobans, we are obliged to find out more about what was going on,” he said.

“There are so many unanswered questions. We have to get answers to these questions.”

When asked if he would call a public request, Kinew said that that would be expensive.

“Why don't you just answer the questions that have remained unanswered?”

Schnoor's report recommended that fines against Stefanson ($ 18,000), Cullen (12,000 US dollars) and Wharton (10,000 US dollars).

The legislative assembly has 10 days after the termination of the ethics report to coordinate the issue of fines.

Kinew said he planned to use this time to continue the PCS questions before keeping a vote.

Sio Silica said it was not an object of the examination and was not not properly traded.

“With a view to the future, we continue to concentrate with the current government and everyone involved in a transparent and respectful way,” said Devlin.

Carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislative reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free press Legislature office. The former general allocation reporter and Copy Editor joined the newspaper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

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