P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan says he does not believe it is a conflict to auction private access to himself for charity.
Last weekend, an auction for the Prince County Hospital Foundation included on its auction list a private dinner for two with the premier.
The item sparked a three-way bidding war that ended with a final winning bid of $2,600 going to Summerside businessman Warren Ellis.
MacLauchlan says he does not see a problem with offering access to himself up to the highest bidder, especially when the proceeds go to charity.
“I don’t mind being accessible as the premier,” he said.
“My part in this is to help the cause. Insofaras that results in some people coming to dinner at my house, I’ve never, in any time I’ve done this, had people come to my house and talk business. People don’t do that.”
Earlier this year, MacLauchlan offered another private dinner at his home as an auction item for a fundraiser for the Watermark Theatre in North Rustico.
RELATED: Premier Wade MacLauchlan sold to highest bidder
That sparked concerns from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation about paying for access to the premier.
"The issue is that he shouldn't be selling off access to the premier to the highest bidder," Atlantic director Kevin Lacey told The Guardian in May.
"It raises questions about the office of the premier even if it's being done for a very good reason."
Since that time further concerns have been raised about this practice by the country’s national ethics watchdog.
In her 2015-16 annual report tabled, federal Conflict of Interest Commissioner Mary Dawson called for tougher laws to address cases of federal cabinet ministers selling access for political and private fundraisers.
“Fundraising activities in which a relatively small number of attendees, in exchange for the price of admission to an event, gain the opportunity to meet a featured minister or party leader have been characterized as ‘selling access.’ This situation is not directly addressed in the act,” Dawson says in her report.
She recommended a code of conduct be implemented to address the political conduct of MPs, cabinet ministers and their staff, including fundraising activities.
“This would go some way to maintain and enhance public confidence and trust in the integrity of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.”
But MacLauchlan says he has no concerns about the public’s confidence when it comes to offering private dinners at his home to those who can afford to bid for it.
He says people don’t need to pay for access to him, as people who want to bend his ear regularly approach him at social events anyway.
“I think that’s really the way things work in Prince Edward Island. If people want to take things up with the premier, they can find me.”
He noted that two other couples also bid on the dinner at his home – Supreme Court Justice Nancy Key and her husband Derek, Summerside Mayor Bill Martin and his wife Josette as well as Warren Ellis and his wife Marlene.
MacLauchlan says he asked Ellis, the successful bidder, if he would mind extending an invitation to the other two couples, and Ellis accepted.
“The six of them will come to dinner at our house and we’ll have an evening together and I’ll be glad to learn something out of it, but it won’t be to talk business.”
He added he also plans to offer a private dinner at his home as a fundraising draw for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation.
P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan says he does not believe it is a conflict to auction private access to himself for charity.
Last weekend, an auction for the Prince County Hospital Foundation included on its auction list a private dinner for two with the premier.
The item sparked a three-way bidding war that ended with a final winning bid of $2,600 going to Summerside businessman Warren Ellis.
MacLauchlan says he does not see a problem with offering access to himself up to the highest bidder, especially when the proceeds go to charity.
“I don’t mind being accessible as the premier,” he said.
“My part in this is to help the cause. Insofaras that results in some people coming to dinner at my house, I’ve never, in any time I’ve done this, had people come to my house and talk business. People don’t do that.”
Earlier this year, MacLauchlan offered another private dinner at his home as an auction item for a fundraiser for the Watermark Theatre in North Rustico.
RELATED: Premier Wade MacLauchlan sold to highest bidder
That sparked concerns from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation about paying for access to the premier.
"The issue is that he shouldn't be selling off access to the premier to the highest bidder," Atlantic director Kevin Lacey told The Guardian in May.
"It raises questions about the office of the premier even if it's being done for a very good reason."
Since that time further concerns have been raised about this practice by the country’s national ethics watchdog.
In her 2015-16 annual report tabled, federal Conflict of Interest Commissioner Mary Dawson called for tougher laws to address cases of federal cabinet ministers selling access for political and private fundraisers.
“Fundraising activities in which a relatively small number of attendees, in exchange for the price of admission to an event, gain the opportunity to meet a featured minister or party leader have been characterized as ‘selling access.’ This situation is not directly addressed in the act,” Dawson says in her report.
She recommended a code of conduct be implemented to address the political conduct of MPs, cabinet ministers and their staff, including fundraising activities.
“This would go some way to maintain and enhance public confidence and trust in the integrity of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.”
But MacLauchlan says he has no concerns about the public’s confidence when it comes to offering private dinners at his home to those who can afford to bid for it.
He says people don’t need to pay for access to him, as people who want to bend his ear regularly approach him at social events anyway.
“I think that’s really the way things work in Prince Edward Island. If people want to take things up with the premier, they can find me.”
He noted that two other couples also bid on the dinner at his home – Supreme Court Justice Nancy Key and her husband Derek, Summerside Mayor Bill Martin and his wife Josette as well as Warren Ellis and his wife Marlene.
MacLauchlan says he asked Ellis, the successful bidder, if he would mind extending an invitation to the other two couples, and Ellis accepted.
“The six of them will come to dinner at our house and we’ll have an evening together and I’ll be glad to learn something out of it, but it won’t be to talk business.”
He added he also plans to offer a private dinner at his home as a fundraising draw for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation.
