A Manitoba cabinet minister is accused of hiding the fact that he had a contract with the provincial government.
The opposition Progressive Conservatives filed a complaint with the province's ethics commissioner on Monday, alleging that Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Ian Bushie unfairly won a contract without allowing others to bid.
The Conservatives also accused Bush of failing to disclose the contract on his disclosure statement, which all Manitoba politicians are required to fill out to disclose their business interests and other assets.
“There's a process you have to follow with the ethics commissioner and the Conflict of Interest Act,” said interim Conservative leader Wayne Ewasko.
Bush is the sole operator of Grandpa George's, a family-owned gas station and convenience store on the Hollow Water First Nation on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.
The government's online contract directory shows the company was awarded its most recent contract in April, worth $100,000. The directory also says the contract was awarded directly — other businesses were not allowed to bid — because Grandpa George's is the only such business nearby.
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Bush listed the store as one of his assets on his disclosure form. But in the section of the form that asks politicians if they have any contracts with the provincial government, Bush listed none.
Bush told reporters that the contract, which provides food and supplies to wildfire response teams, has been renewed since it was first signed several years ago. He also said that while the contract is worth up to $100,000, the actual amount paid is “very small” because it depends on fire activity and how much food and supplies are needed each year.
“We are the only grocery store within a 100-kilometre radius, so this has been our ongoing agreement for almost a decade,” Bush said.
His office later said Bush's store was paid $1,872 in the fiscal year that ended in March.
Bush said he did not disclose the contents of the contract because he did not feel he was required to do so.
“I think it was an agreement between us, not necessarily the contract itself, so I think that was … a little bit of a misunderstanding on my part. So I'm going to have a follow-up conversation with the ethics commissioner to see how we can best clarify that.”
During questioning, Evasco called on Prime Minister Wab Kinev to remove Bush from his post until the ethics commissioner's investigation is complete. Kinev did not respond to the question.
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