Victor Boudreau gives up stake in controversial Shediac campground

Liberal cabinet minister Victor Boudreau says he's walking away from his 20 per cent stake in a controversial Shediac campground proposal.

"On March 27, I directed my lawyer to forfeit my entire stake in the Camping Shediac project," Boudreau said in an email to CBC News on Monday afternoon.

"My lawyer has been working closely with my trustee, who oversees my blind trust, and Conflict of Interest Commissioner [Alexandre] Deschênes in making this happen, which should be finalized in the coming days."

That means Boudreau will give up his ownership in the project completely and will not be paid for it.

The dollar value of his investment and what he'll lose by giving up his stake is not known.

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​​The veteran Liberal politician's role in the project has been stirring controversy for months.

The Progressive Conservative Opposition has been demanding he resign in the wake of poor water-quality tests at Parlee Beach last summer.

That's because Boudreau's department includes public health officials who normally oversee water testing.

Parlee testing has been handled by the Department of Tourism, but public health officials were involved in discussions about the testing last year.

Boudreau put his stake in a blind trust when he became a cabinet minister again in 2014. That meant he was not allowed to have any involvement in the company. There are six other investors, most of whom haven't been identified publicly.

Maintains recusal

​In March, with the water-quality issue raging in the legislature, Boudreau announced he had consulted Deschênes and they agreed he should recuse himself from all government discussions about Parlee Beach.

He said Monday that despite dumping his stake in the project, he will maintain that recusal.

"While the commissioner has confirmed that I have not been in a conflict‎ at any time during this process, I will continue to recuse myself from cabinet discussions about the Shediac Bay Watershed in order to ensure that there is no perception of conflict," he said.

Boudreau said he would not comment further.

The conflict-of-interest law allows an elected official to tell the trustee overseeing a blind trust to "liquidate" the investment and "pay the proceeds over to the member."

In March, Boudreau said he hadn't given any thought to doing that.

"No, like I've said, it's in a blind trust and it's there, as per the requirements of the law," he told CBC News.

Possible perception of conflict

Boudreau said at the time his recusal was because a provincial working group looking at the water issue was considering a moratorium on new development near Parlee Beach, a move that could create the perception he was in a conflict if he stayed involved in the issue.

Deschênes's conclusion was that Boudreau wasn't in a conflict because of a section of the law that says there's no conflict when decisions are of "general public application" or affect "a broad class of persons." Even so, Deschênes said there was a possible perception of conflict.

Last month, Environment Minister Serge Rousselle unveiled a new, stricter water-quality protocol for Parlee Beach that will adhere to Canadian standards.

The beach's testing system last year fell short of national standards that require no-swimming advisories when water quality is poor.

Environmental impact assessed

Last week, the environmental impact assessment for the project was submitted to the provincial government.

Pointe-du-Chêne resident Arthur Melanson, part of a coalition that wants coastal wetlands protected from development, said he was skeptical of Boudreau's statement that he took steps to pull out March 27.

"Why is it that he pulls out at this stage of the game? Why did he not pull out earlier?" Melanson said.

"I find it very suspicious that he bails out right when the EIA is registered. All through the commotion through the summer with the beach pollution and all that, he recused himself but stayed in the picture and everything. And now that the EIA is delivered, he basically drops out of the project."