A democratic watchdog says the federal government's interim ethics commissioner has stumbled out of the gate and his term should not be renewed.In a press release, Democracy Watch (DWatch) said Interim Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein has one of the worst government ethics enforcement records in the past 20 years."In just five months, Mr. von Finckenstein has buried at least eight ethics complaints and gutted three key ethics rules in ways that will allow Cabinet staff and top government officials to secretly profit from their decisions and be in serious financial conflicts of interest," DWatch said in a news release.The Western Standard asked von Finckenstein's office for comment but did not hear a response before publication. Von Finckenstein testifies on Tuesday, January 30th before the House Ethics Committee. DWatch co-founder Duff Conacher said because of von Finckenstein's "negligently bad enforcement record," the opposition should block any renewal of his position.“Appointing him to another six-month term, or even worse a seven-year term, as ethics commissioner would dangerously undermine federal political ethics standards and allow Cabinet ministers, Cabinet staff, top government officials and MPs to make many more unethical decisions and be let off every time,” said “Canadians can only hope that opposition parties do the right thing and stop Prime Minister Trudeau from once again, as he did in 2017, appointing his own ethics lapdog after handpicking him through a secret, partisan, Cabinet-controlled process.”The Federal Court of Appeal ruled unanimously in 2020 that the Cabinet is biased when it chooses democracy watchdogs such as the ethics commissioner in the way von Finckenstein was chosen. However, the cabinet is required to consult with opposition party leaders before making permanent appointments.Conacher made an information request for communication records regarding von Finckenstein's selection, but the government said it would not do so for six months.In September von Finckenstein testified before the House Ethics Committee that he had “eight open cases, which involve 11 people." In October, he testified again and said that the cases were “gone." He has not yet found anyone guilty of violations.Von Finckenstein refused DWatch’s request that he fully disclose all eight rulings, including two which were complaints filed by DWatch itself. Nothing in the Conflict of Interest Act nor in ss. 27(5.1) of the MP Code prohibits such disclosure.The first ruling is about DWatch’s complaint alleging Prime Minister Trudeau violated the Act by appointing his long-time friend David Johnston to investigate the PM’s actions on foreign interference. Von Finckenstein refused to investigate the complaint based on the claim that the PM has a “constitutional prerogative” to appoint whomever he wants."This ruling sets a dangerous precedent that allows the PM to appoint family, relatives and close friends to any federal government position," said DWatch.The second ruling is about DWatch’s complaint requesting an investigation into Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who is Trudeau’s senior BC minister, participating in meetings concerning BC-based Teck Resources Ltd. The company lobbied Wilkinson six times and, according to DWatch, his spouse has significant investments in financial institutions that are among the top investors in Teck. Von Finckenstein also refused to investigate the situation based on the claim the private interests “are too remote and speculative to cause them to conflict” with Wilkinson’s public duties."This ruling also sets a dangerous precedent that allows cabinet ministers and top government officials to participate in decisions when they have a financial conflict of interest," DWatch stated.The organization also complained that von Finckenstein "gutted" three key rules in the Conflict of Interest Act "bizarre, dangerously weak interpretations of the rules" he issued in October.Von Finckenstein doubled from $30,000 to $60,000 the value of shares that Cabinet staff and top government officials can own in businesses they regulate or make decisions about. This specifically allowed members of the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) to invest in exchange-traded funds and mutual funds that own shares in energy companies.Von Finckenstein is allowing cabinet staff and top government officials to leave their position and move to another position in the government, or take a contract with the government, without any cooling-off period because, as he told the House Ethics Committee in October, he believes “there cannot be any conflict of interest between different government departments or agencies” and no one in government ever has “confidential information that would be harmful to the government.”DWatch said this perspective has blind spots."Among many other conflicts of interest between government departments, his interpretation ignores the obvious reality that the interests and information held by ministers and their staff directly conflict with the interests of any agency, board, commission or tribunal that enforces laws that apply to the minister and his/her department," DWatch explained."It also ignores the reason for the cooling-off period, which is to prevent ministerial staff from developing relationships with top department officials and then receiving preferential treatment in hiring processes."The ethics commissioner declined comment for the story.
