(Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

BATTLEFORDS MLA

Cockrill found in violation in one conflict of interest investigation, cleared in another

Dec 17, 2024 | 4:54 PM

Saskatchewan’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner concluded MLA and Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill breached conflict of interest regulations when it came to his father-in-law’s business receiving government contracts but did not violate the act when investing in helium companies benefitting from government incentives.

Commissioner Maurice Herauf’s report, released Monday, indicates that in 2021 Cockrill, an employee of Fortress Windows and Doors, had a vested interest when the company received nearly $179,137 in government contracts. He was paid hourly, managed the company’s marketing, and earned a bonus.

“It is my view that Mr. Cockrill ‘has an interest’ in Fortress within the meaning of s. 15(3)(b) of the Act. Therefore, it is also my view that Mr. Cockrill has participated in government contracts,” Herauf said in his published ruling.

Cockrill remained employed with Fortress beyond the time when he should have known the Battlefords company received government contracts, the report said. Herauf said that constituted a breach of the act.

The investigation started two years after Cockrill was first elected to represent the Saskatchewan Party in 2020. The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party requested the investigation.

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Herauf recommended Cockrill receive only a reprimand, stating that a fine, suspension, or any more serious punishment would be “wholly disproportionate” in relation to the breach of the Act as Cockrill no longer works for the company.

“Mr. Cockrill acted appropriately and sought the advice of my office on disclosure, but no specific advice was sought or provided to him respecting his continued employment. I do not consider his breach of the Act to have been intentional or deliberate. I also acknowledge that his interest in Fortress was remote, albeit captured by the Act,” Herauf said in the report.

Cockrill stated in a statement sent to battlefordsNOW that he accepted the commissioner’s findings. He said his violation of the act was not intentional nor deliberate.

“The Commissioner found that I breached the Act through my “remote ” and “de minimis” (a Latin phrase meaning trifling or negligible) participation in government contracts,” he said.

Cockrill said that after his election, he reached out to the Commissioner for guidance on disclosure requirements after learning about contracts secured by Fortress.

He said that he followed the Commissioner’s advice and believed that doing so meant he was following the law.

“The Commissioner also acknowledged in his opinion that he should have been more “prudent” in his advice to me on this issue,” Cockrill said.

A second allegation of conflict of interest was levied against Cockrill in September after he purchased thousands of shares in two helium companies while discussing the industry in cabinet meetings.

The Saskatchewan NDP at the time was critical of those investments, insinuating they were tantamount to insider trading.

Herauf did not find a conflict of interest, saying Cockrill stepped away from discussions of the specific companies he invested in, but not the helium industry in general. The minister owns roughly $9,000 worth of shares in Evolution Helium, some of which were purchased after the complaint was made about his conduct. He has since sold his shares in Royal Helium.

Herauf said Cockrill’s investments fell within private interest exemptions because those discussions were of public application and applied to the helium industry throughout the province. Cockrill also participated in a government contract for the industry, but the investigation said the permit was made on terms and conditions that were publically available.

Cockrill is the second Sask. Party MLA to be found in conflict of interest. In October, former member Gary Grewal was found in violation of the act by investing in hotels that accepted provincial contracts for social services clients.

—With files from CKOM

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cjnb-news@pattisonmedia.com