NWT Premier Don Morin has been slammed by his own conflict-of-interest commissioner for grave violations of the law and sullying the reputation of the office of the premier, according to a report in Nunatsiaq News.
The commissioner, Anne Crawford, recommended that the premier lose his seat for wilfully and deliberately failing to separate his private interests from his duty to the people of the NWT.
“When a member uses his or her office to put cash into their own pockets, then I would take the position that the trust of the people has been betrayed to the point where the seat should be declared vacant,” wrote
Crawford in a 150-page report.
The complaints revolve around a “hugely profitable” NWT government lease to rent space in an office building. The day after the lease was signed, it was bought by two local businessmen who happened to be Morin’s friends.
Crawford also criticized the premier for trying to obscure the true nature of his dealings and attacking anyone who tried to expose him.
“When Mr. Morin’s friends – and I use that label advisedly – obtained, under the most extraordinary circumstances, a hugely profitable office lease, which no one else had been able to get, Mr. Morin used his office and authority to tell everyone that the deal was fair and that those who complained were just whiners and snivellers,” Crawford said.
“Mr. Morin was not believable because his own position was already compromised by accepting favours and benefits.”
NWT assembly members are now reviewing the report.
