Ethics prof says Winnipeg city councillor 'in a real conflict of interest' over company ownership
CBC News | Posted: December 19, 2018 11:21 PM | Last Updated: December 20, 2018
Rookie Coun. Kevin Klein owns half of company behind Manitoba Post news website
Despite a complaint to the City of Winnipeg's integrity commissioner, rookie city council member Kevin Klein says he no longer has an active role with a local news website.
Klein — elected to represent Charleswood-Tuxedo in October — is the former publisher of manitobapost.com, but remains half-owner of the company that runs the news website.
The Winnipeg Free Press reported Wednesday that a Winnipeg woman has filed a complaint to the city's integrity commissioner, Sherri Walsh, about a conflict of interest faced by Klein due to earnings from website advertisements.
The complainant did not return a request from CBC for an interview.
The best way to have no appearance of a conflict is to eliminate the possibility and out of respect for my constituents, this is the action I feel is most appropriate. - Coun. Kevin Klein
A Manitoba Companies registry search on Wednesday showed Klein is still listed as one of two directors of The Klein Group Ltd. and is one of two shareholders. His wife is the other director and shareholder, as well as the corporation's secretary. Klein's LinkedIn states The Klein Group is owner of Manitoba Post, and lists "government relations" among his duties.
In September, the website reported on a town hall on crime hosted by then-candidate Klein.
In a statement Wednesday, Klein cited the city's code of conduct for councillors, saying he's taken steps to eliminate a perceived conflict of interest.
"To avoid any possibility that others could perceive a conflict between my role as a councillor and my association with a company, I decided to remove myself from any connection and ownership," said Klein in the emailed statement to media.
The statement did not clarify when he removed himself.
See Sherri Walsh describe her new code of conduct in January 2018:
The city's code of conduct prohibits councillors from acting in situations where they have a "real or apparent" conflict of interest at any time while performing their duties of office.
"The best way to have no appearance of a conflict is to eliminate the possibility and out of respect for my constituents, this is the action I feel is most appropriate," Klein wrote in his statement.
Council revamped its code of conduct earlier this year, and brought Walsh on as integrity commissioner.
She said Wednesday she couldn't comment on specifics, including whether or not a complaint has been filed.
But she said the city's code of conduct accepts that people have interests — both directly financial and from relationships. It's actions on those conflicts that lead to investigations, she said.
"Just because someone has an interest doesn't mean they're in a conflict of interest."
The city doesn't have divestment requirements, said Walsh, and the code of conduct holds council members and the mayor to "higher ethical standards than just pecuniary interests."
Sell business, says ethics prof
"Coun. Klein is not in an apparent conflict of interest, he's in a real conflict of interest," said Arthur Schafer, the founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.
Schafer says a conflict of interest is a risk factor for bias — whether that bias is conscious or unconscious. Klein's personal financial interests could be affected by a variety of council votes, Schafer said.
"He would be obliged not just to declare his interests, but not to participate or vote on many issues — and that might affect his ability to do his job," Schafer said.
"The only reasonable way, and ethically sound way, for Coun. Klein to deal with this problem is either to resign from council, so he has no obligation to the citizens of Winnipeg, or give up his financial interest.… Both he and his wife should sell their business."
'We are their bosses'
U of M ethics professor Neil McArthur agrees that both Kleins would have to sell their business, or put it in a blind trust, as other politicians have done to avoid conflicts of interest.
He notes Donald Trump is an exception to that path, instead putting his family in charge of his businesses.
A blind trust could be a challenge in this case for Kevin Klein, though.
"He knows that the paper is … going to be commenting on just about every story, and it's going to be having advertisers from just about every business," McArthur said.
The solution, McArthur said, "has to be political."
"It's what … standard we as voters, we the public, are willing to hold our politicians accountable to.
"So having a simple, flexible code of conduct — it may look fairly weak but I think essentially what it's just saying is that we, as voters, have to be aware of what our politicians are doing," he said.
"We are their bosses and we are the ones who are going to have to hold them accountable."
In addition to chairing the police board, Klein is a member of the mayor's Indigenous advisory circle, the property and development committee, and the water and waste committee, and is the councillor responsible for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.