Ethics probe clears former Alberta premier Redford again in tobacco lawsuit

Alberta’s ethics commissioner then asked her counterpart in British Columbia to investigate to determine if there should another investigation

In a report released Monday, Paul Fraser, B.C.’s acting ethics commissioner, says Redford did not break Alberta’s Conflict of Interest Act.

“I have found on a balance of probabilities that Ms. Redford did not improperly further another person’s private interest in making her decision and, therefore, did not breach the Conflicts of Interest Act,” the report says.

The report says Redford selected a consortium known as International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers (ITRL) to represent Alberta and that her former husband, Robert Hawkes, was a partner in one of the firms.

ITRL was selected out of three consortium applicants to handle the lawsuit.

Fraser says he focused on whether Redford’s decision improperly furthered Hawkes’ private interest.

“In making the choice of counsel in the tobacco litigation, she used sensible and principled reasoning, based on cogent information she received in the briefing note from government officials and that she had collected in the course of her active tenure as Minister of Justice and Attorney General,” the report says.

In a statement, Alberta Justice Kathleen Ganley thanks Fraser for his work but offers little other comment.

“The report was just tabled in the house this afternoon, and we will be reviewing it,” she says.

The consortium remains in charge of the lawsuit.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Ethics probe clears former Alberta premier Redford again in tobacco lawsuit

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