EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — Alberta’s ethics commissioner has cleared the education minister following a complaint issued earlier this year.
But, there are still some discrepancies and questions that remain to be answered.
The investigation was launched in January, stemming from emails surrounding Education Minister Adriana LaGrange’s office selecting Red Deer-based IFR Workwear Inc. as a supplier of PPE ahead of the 2020 school year.
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One of the founders of the company, Reg Radford, had donated to LaGrange’s election campaign and there were some concerns that awarding the contract was related to that donation.
The emails showed that Old Navy could be a cheaper supplier of masks, but after some suggestion from staff IFR was selected to provide some of the required masks as well to support a local business.
Other links between the company and the government included LaGrange and Premier Jason Kenney touring their facilities for a photo op in July of 2020 — a month before they were given part of the contract.
LaGrange contended that IFR was selected due to technical advice and was not aware of it until the deal was done.
Commissioner Marguerite Trussler’s 29-page report lays out several findings through the investigation, but ultimately clears LaGrange of any wrongdoing.
However, she wrote that it’s not necessarily due to evidence that completely absolves the minister.
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“There are unanswered questions about the procurement of masks from IFR Workwear Inc. There is no doubt that the Minister’s office had some involvement with that process,” Trussler wrote in the final page of the report.
“As a result of the lack of memory of several key people, even though there are grounds for suspicion, it is not possible to find, on a balance of probabilities, that Minister LaGrange interfered with the process to the extent required by the test set out in this report to make a finding that she improperly furthered the private interest of IFR Workwear Inc. and its owners.”
Trussler said the campaign donation was “irrelevant” because there’s no evidence suggesting that was used as leverage by the company.
What is more in question is how promotional material came to be forwarded to LaGrange’s office and what happened between that and the selection of IFR.
The issue around people not recalling the exact events had seemingly prevented Trussler from digging further.
“The crucial questions that remain are where did the material about IFR Workwear Inc. come from and why did (former Assistant Deputy Minister of Education) Michael Walter feel compelled to follow up on the company?” Trussler asked.
“It does not mean that they are not credible witnesses, but only that their memories are not reliable.”
The investigation found it was clear LaGrange had attended meetings before suppliers were selected where masks were discussed, including a conclusion that they would follow up on using IFR as a mask supplier. LaGrange denied being a part of any such discussion, though.
It is added that LaGrange “categorically denied under oath that she gave any direction to purchase IFR Workwear Inc. masks,” and Trussler said she would have to draw an inference from the rest of the evidence that she did offer direction.
With a lack of such conclusive evidence, she said this would not be possible.
LaGrange’s office offered a statement following the release of the report, saying it is pleased the investigation found no rules were broken.
“We thank the Commissioner for her diligence in compiling this report and we accept its findings. As always, our number one priority remains the wellbeing of our students, and Alberta’s government remains committed to supporting students and staff throughout the entire pandemic,” the statement said.
