Former Manitoba deputy premier advised Kinew's chief of staff to arrange ministerial meet with mining company

On the day Wab Kinew was sworn in as Manitoba's premier, the former deputy premier in the outgoing PC government suggested senior members of the incoming NDP government meet with the president of a company seeking environmental approval for a mining project.

Cliff Cullen said he gave the advice out of concern for Manitoba's economy. The new premier, however, said the suggestion points to a pattern of behaviour on the part of the outgoing government with regards to Sio Silica.

On Oct. 19, Cullen, the former MLA for Spruce Woods, texted Mark Rosner, Kinew's chief of staff.

Cullen suggested two freshly sworn-in NDP cabinet members — Environment Minister Tracy Schmidt and Economic Development Minister Jamie Moses — ought to meet with Feisal Somji, the president of Sio Silica. 

The Alberta company is awaiting provincial environmental approval to drill as many as 7,200 wells in southeastern Manitoba over the next 24 years in an effort to extract up to 33 million tonnes of ultra-pure silica sand.

Kinew and two former PC cabinet ministers — Kevin Klein and Rochelle Squires — claimed in December the outgoing PC government tried to approve the licence during the transition period between governments.

Klein and Squires both said they were asked by former PC cabinet minister Jeff Wharton to approve Sio Silica's proposal before the NDP government was sworn in. Both said they refused.

Such a move would have constituted a breach of the caretaker convention, an informal democratic principle intended to dissuade outgoing governments from making consequential decisions during the period between an election and the next government's swearing in.

Former premier Heather Stefanson and former PC economic development minister Wharton, both of whom remain sitting MLAs, deny these allegations, insisting the PCs simply brought information about the Sio Silica proposal to the new government.

'Courtesy call': Cullen

Cullen, who did not stand for re-election on Oct. 3, also said his government did not seek to violate the caretaker convention.

The former Spruce Woods MLA said he texted Rosner to suggest the meeting because he was aware the Sio Silica president would soon be back in Winnipeg.

"My interest in this was the potential for 8,000 jobs," Cullen said Wednesday in a telephone interview, adding he had previously suggested Rosner pay close attention to the Sio Silica file.

"I said to Rosner, 'get eyes on it,'" he said, explaining the company's application was getting close to a place where it could be approved and that the company was facing timing concerns.

"It was a courtesy call. That was it."

Kinew suggested Wednesday he has a less innocent view of Cullen's advice to Rosner.

Speaking at an unrelated press conference in Winnipeg, Kinew said Cullen's request made it appear "as though there is a pattern of behaviour" on the part of the outgoing PC government.

"If there were so many people that are part of that former government pushing in a certain direction on a project that was supposed to be the subject of an independent environmental approval process and decision-making process, it does bring into question the validity of that approval process," Kinew said.

"We're now taking the time to review the steps toward approval of that process."

Extensive conversations with governments: Sio

Cullen said he is frustrated the NDP appears to be making a conspiracy out of what he described as a well-intentioned effort to stress the importance of the Sio Silica proposal.

Wharton has made similar claims. He also said he called Klein and Squires simply to gather information about Sio Silica's proposal in order to share that information with the incoming NDP government.

Somji said in a statement Sio Silica has engaged in extensive conversations with multiple levels of governments over the past two and a half years.

"During this time, we have answered all the questions put forth from the review done by the Manitoba Government Technical Advisory Committee, Municipal Board hearings, the public and others over the same time period, as well as undergone an intensive technical review [through] the Clean Environment Commission process," Somji said.

"Sio appreciates the new government's commitment to evidence-based decision making and we are committed to continuing to work with them to ensure we answer all of their questions during their extensive review."

Last week, NDP caucus chair Mike Moyes filed two ethics complaints over the allegations the outgoing PC government tried to ram through approval of the Sio Silica proposal. One complaint involved Wharton, while the other involved Stefanson, who officially stepped down as party leader on Monday.

The latter complaint was spurred by a Squires allegation, published in a column she wrote for the Winnipeg Free Press, that Wharton told her the Sio Silica project was "of significant importance" to the former premier, but that "because of a conflict, she herself couldn't offer that directive."

Stefanson has denied any such conflict.

"We respected the caretaker convention and it didn't happen, so I don't know what the issue is here," Stefanson said Saturday. "It didn't happen. End of story."

Stefanson said she wasn't privy to Wharton's conversations with the departing cabinet ministers.

Klein, however, said he told Stefanson about Wharton's request back in October.

"I did inform the premier and she agreed with me it was inappropriate," he said in December.