Manitoba legislature approves fines for former premier and cabinet ministers

WINNIPEG — Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson and two of her cabinet ministers were fined Tuesday for violating the province’s conflict of interest law in pushing for a mining project.

Members of the legislature from all parties voted unanimously in favour of a report issued in May by ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor, who ruled that Stefanson, her deputy premier Cliff Cullen and her economic development minister Jeff Wharton tried to get a mining project approved after the Progressive Conservatives lost the 2023 election and before the NDP government could be sworn in.

The three improperly furthered the private interests of other people, contrary to the conflict law, and violated the caretaker convention — a long-standing parliamentary principle that forbids outgoing governments from making major decisions after losing an election, Schnoor wrote.

Premier Wab Kinew said the attempt went against fundamental democratic principles.

“This is a complete failing of an institution in the form of the Manitoba PC party that was supposed to have integrity,” Kinew said Tuesday.

“What separates Canada from banana republics is that we have orderly transitions of power. At the heart of this case is the ignorance of the responsibility to participate in the orderly transition of power.”

Stefanson was fined $18,000, Cullen $12,000 and Wharton $10,000, as recommended by the ethics commissioner. Legislature members are not allowed to amend the penalties and can only accept or reject such reports. Kinew said he wished Stefanson’s fine had been higher.

The Progressive Conservatives did not speak to the report in the legislature chamber, other than to say they accept the findings and would vote accordingly. Wharton voted in favour of the fine imposed on him.

Tory Leader Obby Khan, who served as a cabinet minister under Stefanson, did not criticize his former boss and cabinet colleagues, other than to say he supports the ethics commissioner.

“It’s clearly laid out that he has fined them and he has found there was wrongdoings,” Khan told reporters.

“We accept that report by the commissioner. We accept his findings.”

Neither the Tory caucus nor party headquarters will help pay any of the fines, Khan added.

Stefanson, who left politics, has not spoken publicly about the ethics report other than a written statement in which she said she was acting in the public interest and deferred to the incoming government. She had previously said she had no stake in the project.

Cullen has also left politics and has not spoken publicly on the matter.

Wharton remains in the Tory caucus but was stripped of his critic duties when the commissioner’s report came out in May. He has said he thought the outgoing government was allowed to approve the mine under a section of the Environment Act, but now accepts that the belief was wrong.

The controversy centred on the proposed Sio Silica sand mine. It was touted as potentially creating thousands of jobs and thousands of wells over 24 years across a large swath of southeastern Manitoba, although only an initial phase was being considered for a licence.

Kevin Klein, who was environment minister, and Rochelle Squires, who was families minister as well as acting environment minister, said in 2023 they were called separately by Wharton days after the Tories lost the election and asked to rush approval of the project. Both said they refused because of the election loss and the fact the project was still being reviewed by bureaucrats.

The NDP government later quashed the project, partly due to concerns over the potential impact on drinking water.

Kinew said there are unanswered questions about the failed attempt to push the project’s approval. He called for Wharton to be removed from the Tory caucus.

The ethics commissioner said some things that he was told by Wharton, Stefanson and Cullen contradicted the facts. Cullen, for example, said he was simply seeking information about the project and not pushing it but that “flies in the face” of evidence, Schnoor wrote.

A political analyst said the ethics breach was serious but may not resonate for long.

“I’m not sure how long this is going to last on the public radar but I would say it is a serious matter and I suspect the governing NDP won’t let it rest until (the fines are) paid,” said Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Manitoba.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press