British Columbia Minister Josie Osborne denies conflict of interest allegations

article content

Faced with allegations of conflict of interest, the office of the Minister of Land, Water and Resources Management, Josie Osborne, provided a timeline to show that she was not involved in the decision to approve a $15 million grant to a non-profit group. who bought her husband’s investment property.

article content

In April, the Ministry of Land, Water and Resources Management announced that a $15 million stewardship fund would be awarded to the MakeWay Charitable Society, formerly known as Tides Canada, to coordinate First Nations-led or co-led watershed restoration projects. .

Osborne’s husband, George Patterson, sold the Tofino Botanical Gardens to the MakeWay Charitable Society for $2.3 million on Sept. 17, 2021, according to title documents. The 12-acre waterfront property on Pacific Rim Highway was initially listed for sale for $3.75 million.

BC Liberals have asked conflict of interest commissioner Victoria Gray to investigate whether there is any conflict. They insist that the optics are not good.

“How can British Columbians have confidence that the purchase of the property did not play a role in awarding the $15 million fund or that MakeWay did not take advantage of this purchase to gain influence in the minister’s office?” Lorne Doerkson, a BC Liberal critic for land, water and resource stewardship, asked in a statement.

article content

However, Osborne’s office said she was not involved in the decision to select MakeWay as the group to administer the funds for the healthy watershed initiative. The decision was made when the program fell to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy before the Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Management was created in February.

After taking over the new ministry, Osborne set up a screen with his deputy minister to recuse himself from any decision-making involving MakeWay.

“This is in line with public service processes to prevent and manage any potential or perceived conflict of interest,” his ministry said.

Osborne was not available for an interview, but his ministry said in a statement that BC Liberal’s complaint is “inaccurate” and that it has contacted the commissioner to provide him with all the information necessary to resolve the issue quickly.

article content

A public interest disclosure statement filed by Osborne on November 26, 2021 says that his spouse consults/contracts with the MakeWay Foundation. The foundation is a national charity, with a mandate of “nature and communities thriving together”. He turned the botanic gardens into an indigenous conservation area and center of innovation.

When the land sale was announced, Patterson told local media that he would stay on as an adviser for three years.

Osborne was one of the ministers pressed by MakeWay in April on conservation and forestry issues.

Osborne, a marine biologist chosen to represent the Mid Island-Pacific Rim in 2020, is the former mayor of Tofino.

Gray, the commissioner, would not comment on the allegations, but her office said in a statement that it “will determine in due course what additional steps are required and proceed accordingly.”

[email protected]

More news, less ads: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 a week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The province.