Manitoba premier vows public inquiry into former PC government efforts to approve sand-mining licence

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he intends to call a public inquiry into the former Progressive Conservative government's efforts to approve an environmental licence for sand miner Sio Silica.(Trevor Lyons/CBC) Sio Silica is in the midst of a second effort to obtain a licence to extract silica sand from below the surface of southeastern Manitoba.(Gary Solilak/CBC) Manitoba's ethics commissioner concluded former PC deputy premier Cliff Cullen, former premier Heather Stefanson and former economic development minister Jeff Wharton violated conflict of interest rules. All three were fined for their roles in trying to approve a licence for Sio Silica.(CBC News) Paul Thomas, professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba, questions the motives and costs of a public inquiry.(CBC) Manitoba premier vows public inquiry into former PC government efforts to approve sand-mining licence Wab Kinew also says lobbying rules will be tightened in wake of PC efforts to green-light Sio Silica proposal Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba will hold a public inquiry as soon as 2026 into the former Progressive Conservative government’s post-election efforts to approve an environmental licence for sand-mining company Sio Silica. The premier said his NDP government will probably strengthen Manitoba’s lobbying rules in the wake of efforts in 2023 by outgoing premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers to green-light the mining proposal during the two-week caretaker period between the PC's election-night loss and Kinew’s swearing-in ceremony. Manitoba ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor ruled in May that Stefanson, former deputy premier Cliff Cullen and former cabinet minister Jeff Wharton violated conflict of interest legislation by improperly pushing to approve the Sio Silica licence. The Manitoba Legislature subsequently voted to mete out an $18,000 fine to Stefanson, and to require Cullen to pay $12,000. A $10,000 fine was given to Wharton, who remains the PC MLA for Red River North. Kinew said while Schnoor’s report was thorough, there remain questions the ethics commissioner could not answer. “Mainly motive. Like, why did they do this?” the premier said Friday in an interview in his office, adding Schnoor was “not able to look into financial holdings,” among other matters. “Like, what was so important about this thing that, you know, they would risk it all for that?" Kinew said his government is developing terms of reference and searching for a commissioner for a Sio Silica inquiry that could start in 2026 and take two or three years to conclude, wrapping up “maybe before the next election.” The next provincial vote is slated for Oct. 5, 2027, and Kinew on Friday downplayed talk of calling an election in 2026. The premier suggested the inquiry will recommend changes to provincial lobbying rules he calls weak. “Is our lobbying framework strong enough in Manitoba to make sure that you, the average person, know what's going on with your government officials, the people that you affect in our democracy? I think we can do better,” Kinew said. “What transparency do you need into the dealings of lobbying to government, so that you know that...

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