Ombudsman's report on Tiger Dam contract a blow for NDP, analyst says

A report by Manitoba's ombudsman that detailed the provincial government's attempt to buy $5 million in flood-fighting Tiger Dams with an untendered contract is a blow for the governing NDP as they head into an election, says a political analyst.

The report by ombudsman Charlene Paquin says Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton ignored advice and concerns from senior government staff about buying the Tiger Dams in 2014 for the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council.

• Manitoba government lacked justification for Tiger Dam contracts, ombudsman says
• Read the ombudsman's full report

Civil servants were directed to waive the competitive tendering process for the purchase one the reportsays"lacked sufficientjustification."

The ombudsman's investigation was launched after a whistleblower alleged Ashton was in a conflict of interest when his department awarded the contract to a company represented in Manitoba by a friend of Ashton who, in the past, has contributed to both Ashton's and the NDP's election campaigns.

While Ashton said he has learned a lesson in this case, that may not let him or the New Democrats off the hook, said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

"It means that Ashton still has a lot to answer for," Thomas said in an interview Friday.

"For people who already lack deep trust in this government, of its honesty and trustworthiness, they'll say, 'Well, they're playing fast and loose. They don't have ethical standards.'"

While Paquin said her office does not have the legislative authority to review political decisions, her report indicated there are many questions about why the government wanted to avoid opening the contract to other bids.

The report notes that elected officials, including Ashton, provided direction and made commitments to the project that "did complicate the administrative process that followed."

But the report also says proper procedures were followed in the end, when Ashton was overruled by other cabinet ministers.

'You learn lessons,' Ashton says

The ombudsman's findings prompted the opposition Progressive Conservatives, who have grilled the NDP for months over the Tiger Dams controversy, to call on Premier Greg Selinger to boot Ashton from cabinet.

Ashton said he was simply trying to secure needed equipment for flood-prone First Nations communities, but had learned a lesson from the situation.

"You learn lessons should have gone to tender right from the start," he said Thursday.

The premiersaid the longtime cabinet minister will do better next time.

"Hey, the minister has received a lesson in how to do things properly, and we've all learned from this experience," Selinger said. "The bottom line is the proper procedures were done."

Thomas said while the Tiger Dams controversy may not harm Ashton's chances of re-election in his northern riding this spring, it will serve as another blow to the embattled New Democrats, who have been scoring poorly in opinion polls.

"He seems on this occasion to [have] suffered an ethical lapse in terms of understanding whether there was a real conflict of interest or only a perceived conflict of interest," Thomas said.

"He has to know that his political opponents will treat any signs of favouritism in the worst possible light, and he stands accused now, and he's going to have to deal with that in the next few months."

The premierwill also face criticism over the Tiger Dams controversy in the legislative session that starts next month, as well as in the campaign leading up to the April 19 provincial election, Thomas added.

"Selinger's judgment as a leader, and even his integrity and his willingness to stand up for the principles of good governance and a sound procurement process, will be challenged again," he said.

A federal government investigation into the Tiger Dams contract isongoing.