OTTAWA—Canada’s federal ethics watchdog ruled today that Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc violated the conflict of interest act when he approved an Arctic surf clam licence to a company employing a family member. ( Patrick Doyle / THE CANADIAN PRESS )“A first cousin of Mr. LeBlanc’s spouse, Gilles Theriault, could have benefited financially from an Arctic surf clam licence being awarded to the Five Nations Clam Company,” Dion said Wednesday. New Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in August the licence cancellation had nothing to do with the ethics issue facing LeBlanc and that he didn’t think LeBlanc had acted inappropriately. Dion disagreed with this, and also noted LeBlanc had met with Theriault prior to awarding the clam licence to Five Nations, during which time they discussed the issue. Dion found that Doherty’s request for a conflict investigation based on these ties did not meet the requirements of the conflict act.

Source: thestar September 12, 2018 18:11 UTC