Reform or housecleaning, the investigation appears set to determine the stability of the existing power structure in Prince Edward Island.
The Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) has been trying to broach the subject of bringing eGaming to the area. According to Premier Wade McLauchlan, the dealings under review focus on the conduct of selected elected officials and staff, some of whom are no longer serving in their elected positions.
Undue Influence on Personal Financial Interests
The review will examine the influence exerted by certain government officials on policy discussion related to the financial fortunes of companies they were financially invested in. The companies touched include Simplex, Capital Market Technologies and related companies, and the findings are supposed to pave the way for reform, ostensibly establishing a system that keeps government officials with personal interest in the outcome of legislation out of the voting and decision-making process for those specific initiatives. Penalties for undue participation could potentially be forthcoming to maintain and enforce those protections.
Reform Possible?
What reform means still is not completely clear; it is also unclear whether reform can take place without a full-scale house-cleaning as government officials, even as suspected government officials begin walking sideways away from the current tainted administration.
Nature of Concerns
One such case is P.E.I.'s conflict of interest commissioner Neil Robinson, who announced Sunday he was stepping down due to what he claimed was a “lack of confidence” in the legislature as a result of vehement complaints from Opposition Progressive Conservatives over his involvement in the online gambling file.
This lack of confidence clearly looks more like an erosion of faith. Tory Party Leader Rob Lantz clarified the opposition position against robinson and other scrutinized government officials, asserting that Robinson should have removed himself from all discussions specifically relating to e-gaming after he invested in a company linked to the e-gaming controversy.
MacLauchlan announced that retired justice John McQuaid would replace Robinson as acting conflict of interest commissioner, but this may just be the first of many voluntary or involuntary resignations from key government officials in the wake of the scandal, depending on the depth of the investigation and the extent of corruption ultimately revealed.
Who Will Remain?
The question is in P.E.I. now remains, if reform is suggested as a policy initiative within the government, will there be enough officials remaining to implement it?
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