The opposition parties want the province’s conflict of interest commissioner to review all the circumstances surrounding Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau’s sale of his fishing assets.
The Liberals and Tories have written Merlin Nunn urging him to reassess the situation because of information that has surfaced since Mr. Belliveau sought his advice in June.
“We’ll allow him to make his decision, rule on it and we’ll obviously have to live with it,” Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil told reporters Tuesday at Province House.
Mr. Belliveau is selling his fishing licence, boat and gear to a prospective buyer who’s getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fisheries and aquaculture loan board. Mr. Belliveau also holds an outstanding loan he acquired in 2004 from the board, and he was part of a decision to reappoint two members of the board in September.
Mr. McNeil said Mr. Nunn didn’t know all of this information when Mr. Belliveau asked him for guidance after the June election on how to proceed with an agreement between him and a fisherman who wanted to buy the assets.
The ministerial code of conduct prevents Mr. Belliveau from keeping his fishing business, Mr. Mussel’s Seafarms Ltd., in his new role. But he’s still the director of the company, and the Liberals want evidence he didn’t participate in processing the fisherman’s application for a loan from the board.
Mr. Belliveau wouldn’t divulge Tuesday during question period in the House whether the sale has been finalized and he’s received the money.
“I don’t think we live in an era of big brother,” Mr. Belliveau said. “This is personal.”
Mr. McNeil said Mr. Belliveau is obligated to be more forthcoming about the transaction.
“His department is providing a loan, the money’s going to end up back in the minister’s bank account,” Mr. McNeil said. “Something doesn’t seem right about that.”
Interim Tory leader Karen Casey shared the same concerns as her Liberal counterpart in getting Mr. Nunn to take another look at the matter.
“We will respect the decision that he makes,” Ms. Casey said. “But we just want to make sure that all of the documents and all of the information that perhaps wasn’t available and wasn’t part of the review does come to Justice Nunn.”
Mr. Nunn had advised Mr. Belliveau to avoid related decisions of his department’s loan board because it could present a conflict of interest. Mr. Belliveau said he verbally handed off responsibility to his deputy minister.
Mr. Belliveau has said he didn’t have anything to do with the board and didn’t know any of the members. But the Liberals have pointed out he played a round of golf with one member, Paula McQuinn, who excused herself from voting at a meeting in September because she knew the minister.
Premier Darrell Dexter has maintained his minister did everything as he was supposed to and said the opposition is free to write Mr. Nunn about their concerns
“I don’t know what he’ll say,” Mr. Dexter said. “What I do know is that over the past couple of weeks they have been unable to produce anything that looks like a conflict.”
