A recent revelation by the Treasury Board has sparked concerns over conflicts of interest among federal managers. Blacklock's Reporter says in the past two years, 163 cases of in-house conflicts in contracting have been reported, with 79 instances in 2022 and 84 in 2023. However, the dollar amounts associated with these conflicts remain undisclosed.Heidi Kuntz, associate assistant Treasury Board deputy, testified before the Commons government operations committee that the information only covers voluntarily disclosed conflicts by federal managers. The lack of transparency has raised questions about the severity of these conflicts and the potential impact on taxpayer dollars.The issue of conflicts of interest is not new, with five employees fired from Public Works last year for engaging in sweetheart contracting. A subsequent motion passed by the Commons public accounts committee in March banned inside contracting by federal managers. However, the Value and Ethics Code for the Public Sector only mandates that staff take steps to prevent and resolve conflicts, without imposing a blanket ban.Liberal MP Charles Sousa acknowledged that non-disclosure of conflicts is a larger issue, emphasizing the importance of employees declaring potential conflicts. Samantha Tattersall, assistant comptroller general, estimated that the government processes close to 400,000 contracts, making the 79 reported conflicts seem minimal. However, she acknowledged that these may be separate issues.The practice of moonlighting as contractors is reportedly commonplace among federal managers, with many having "side gigs" to supplement their income. David Yeo, CEO of Dalian Enterprises Inc., testified that this is a widespread practice, driven by the need to make ends meet in an expensive economy.
