Cooling-off period 'thrown under the bus' with former minister's mining job, says consultant

A vocal figure in Yellowknife mining says allowing former industry minister Dave Ramsay to join the board of Fortune Minerals is a "big step backward" for transparency in the Northwest Territories.

David Connelly, a consultant to Yellowknife gold mining firm TerraX, says the territory's conflict of interest commissioner should resign over his decision to approve Ramsay's appointment. Connelly said the perceived conflict could "do a great amount of damage" to the territory's reputation.

Former ministers are instructed to wait one year after leaving office before taking jobs which may present a conflict of interest regarding their time in public service.

Ramsay left his job shortly after being voted out in last November's territorial election. However, Edmonton-based commissioner David Phillip Jones partly waived the 12-month provision to allow Ramsay's move to Fortune Minerals, saying it was "not contrary to the public interest."

Ramsay, who controlled regulation and development of the N.W.T.'s mines for four years, will now help to develop a mining project near Whati.

However, he may not directly lobby the territorial government until the full year-long cooling-off period expires.

Guidelines 'thrown under the bus'

Connelly said he could not understand how Jones perceived no conflict of interest in reaching his decision.

"The territory is working too hard to shed its third-world, 'you scratch my back, I will scratch your back' old-boy reputation … to just throw the conflict-of-interest guidelines and cooling-off period under the bus," Connelly wrote in a letter to CBC on Wednesday.

"Even as a participant in the natural resource industry and a friend of the former minister, I agree [that] this very unfortunate exemption brings disrepute and disrespect to the territory. No wonder investors are going elsewhere."

Jones, who also serves as Yukon's conflict of interest commissioner, has not responded to CBC's requests for comment.

His ruling on this case appears to partly rely on Ramsay's assertion that he had "no significant dealings" with Fortune while serving as industry minister.

"We're what, four months on? And now we're into directors' fees, options — the share price has gone up 300 per cent," noted Connelly.

Fortune Minerals, while trading at historic lows, has seen its share price rise to $0.08 from $0.02 since February.

'Not a negative thing'

On Monday, Ramsay said he actively sought the commissioner's approval and had not at any stage acted improperly in pursuing his new position.

But Connelly, who owns consultancy firm Ile Royale Enterprises, wants the former minister to step back.

"The commissioner should resign and at the very least Ramsay should defer his appointment until the 12-month cooling-off period has elapsed," Connelly wrote.

"To do nothing casts us all — governments, activists, industry — in a horrible light."

However, Gary Vivian — president of the N.W.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines — disagrees, saying calling for the conflict of interest commissioner to resign "doesn't really match the situation." 

Vivian said the appointment did not warrant that level of concern.

"The conflict of interest commissioner is specific in stating some issues that Mr. Ramsay should stay away from [such as directly lobbying the territorial government] and I'm quite comfortable with that," said Vivian.

"My general perception of this is not a negative thing ... I truly believe the industry is at a point right now where the permitting process, corporate responsibility and expectations in dealing with communities have been very transparent on the industry's part, and I don't see any of that changing.

"I don't think this affects our relationship with the public or the communities at all."