The NWT's integrity commissioner has dismissed a complaint against Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek.
Commissioner David Phillip Jones received a complaint that alleged WawzonekSA国际影视传媒檚 statements about staffing appeals within the GNWT, regarding the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC), breached the code of conduct.
According to a news release from the assembly, complainant Daniel Richards argued that Wawzonek incorrectly informed him that he must submit staffing appeals about positions with NTPC directly to the corporation rather than to the deputy minister of Finance.
Nevertheless, Richards also pointed out that if the staffing appeals went to the deputy minister of Finance, there would be a conflict of interest, since the deputy minister, William Mackay, is also on the power corporation's board of directors.
Richards also maintained that, despite Wawzonek's public statements about NTPC operating at armSA国际影视传媒檚 length from the GNWT, there are high-ranking government officials within the corporation, which is also a conflict of interest.
Jones responded to each of these points. According to a summary report from the assembly, released on Dec. 13, he states that Wawzonek correctly advised Richards about staffing appeals needing to go to NTPC.
"NTPC refers staffing appeals to an external staffing review officer who is an external lawyer retained for this purpose, not to the deputy minister of Finance," Jones stated. This point also removes any conflict of interest pertaining to Mackay's involvement with the corporation, he added.
"The fact that the NWT government has appointed some senior officials to the NTPCSA国际影视传媒檚 board of directors does not create a conflict of interest, and does not mean that it does not operate at armSA国际影视传媒檚 length from the NWT government," according to Jones.
He also noted that staffing guidelines apply to the GNWT's departments and agencies, except the power corporation.
Jones added that his job is to determine whether Wawzonek was in a conflict of interest, and even if she was incorrect in her advice, it would still not constitute a conflict, he explained.
As for Mackay, supposing NTPC staffing appeals were to go to him, it still does not create a conflict of interest for Wawzonek and could be addressed by delegating Mackay's function or by recusing himself from discussions at the NTPC board of directors level.
Jones' last recommendation was in regards to clearing up the process used for NTPC staffing appeals, advising that "steps could usefully be taken to clarify the relationship between the guidelines and the regulation, as well as information about the process to be used for NTPC staffing appeals."
