Conflict of interest commissioner moves ahead with inquiry on 2 Sask. Party MLAs

Saskatchewan's Conflict of Interest Commissioner has moved ahead with pursuing a conflict of interest case against two Saskatchewan Party MLAs — Jeremy Cockrill and Gary Grewal. 

The Member's Conflict of Interest Act says a member is considered to have had a conflict if they make or participate in making a decision while knowing that there is an opportunity to further their private interests.

Maurice Herauf, Saskatchewan's Conflict of Interest Commissioner, said he has received requests linked to sections 29(1) and 30(1)(a) of The Members' Conflict of Interest Act with respect to Cockrill and Grewal. 

"As required by that section, I determined that there were reasonable and probable grounds to proceed," he said in an emailed response Wednesday.

Section 29(1) of the Act says any member with reasonable grounds can request the commissioner to give their opinion on if the accused MLAs have contravened the law. In this case, that could apply to Cockrill and Grewal allegedly having had private interests while holding office. 

Section 30(1)(a) of the Act says the commissioner may conduct an inquiry on receiving a request under section 29.

The commissioner said that Cockrill and Grewal were notified of the inquiry in July. Angela Currie, Chief of Staff, said in an emailed statement that the MLAs are cooperating and going through the commissioner's process.

MLA disclosure statements from 2022 show Cockrill held a part-time sales position at the Fortress Windows and Doors Ltd. He held an advisor's position at the same company in 2021. The company's name or address doesn't show up in Cockrill's 2023 or 2024 statements. 

Fortress Windows and Doors, according to Saskatchewan Housing Corporations Payee Disclosure Report, received $179,137.46 from the Battlefords Housing Authority in 2021-22. 

In May, Meara Conway, the Opposition's critic for ethics and democracy, had triggered two investigations as she raised concerns about how public money is flowing to private companies connected to politicians. 

Conway, in a media briefing then, said she believes Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill breached Section 15 of the act, which prohibits government contracts for elected officials unless they get an exemption. 

Conway said Fortress Windows and Doors also received "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in contracts from SaskTel. She said Cockrill did not obtain an exemption for this work. 

"When he was elected in 2020, he should have stepped away from this company if they were going to continue to do work with the government," Conway said.

Conway also said she believes Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal breached the act by not seeking an exemption from the commissioner, related to his two motels in Regina.

The NDP said records show Grewal's motels did almost no business with the Ministry of Social Services prior to Grewal's election. However, after he was elected, "government business increased to $731,194 in a few short years." 

The party has also accused Grewal of inflating prices when serving social services clients. 

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck, while kicking off her her election campaign in Saskatoon on Thursday, said the province needs to restore trust by taking accountability. 

"If they are found guilty of using their public position for personal gain, I would expect that any leader would take that seriously and ensure that they're no longer in those positions where they enjoy the public trust," she said.

Premier Scott Moe, in a Thursday media briefing marking 80 per cent completion of the Regina General Hospital parkade, said the Sask. Party will stick to following the process that's associated with the inquiry. 

"I wouldn't say it's common, but I'd say it's happened before where he [the commissioner] will look into and ask some questions about an MLA's disclosure reports," he said.

"If he [the commissioner] has some recommendations that'll come out of that, certainly MLAs will follow it."