Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange is shown speaking during a news conference on Aug. 4, 2020. (Gov't. of Alberta live stream)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

year-long controversy

‘Grounds for suspicion,’ but no wrongdoing by minister in mask procurement

Aug 16, 2021 | 8:31 PM

An investigation recently concluded by Alberta’s Ethics Commissioner finds Alberta’s Minister of Education did nothing wrong during a 2020 controversy related to the procurement of masks.

Ethics Commissioner Marguerite Trussler outlines in a 19-page report how, ultimately, Red Deer-North MLA Adriana LaGrange broke no laws.

However, Trussler also writes in the report’s final paragraph that there remain unanswered questions.

“There is no doubt that the Minister’s office had some involvement with that process,” Trussler says.

“As a result of the lack of memory of several key people, even though there are grounds for suspicion, it is not possible to find, on a balance of probabilities, that Minister LaGrange interfered with the process to the extent required by the test set out in this report to make a finding that she improperly furthered the private interest of IFR Workwear Inc. and its owners.”

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The controversy began in August 2020 when it was revealed that one of the businesses selected to provide a portion of 1.7 million reusable masks for kids going back to school was in LaGrange’s constituency.

The plot thickened when revealed that the owner of that business — Reg Radford of IFR Workwear — provided a $2,000 to LaGrange’s 2019 election campaign.

The mask contracts’ total value was $4.2 million, with 90 per cent going to Old Navy, and 10 per cent to IFR.

Not only did LaGrange — and then Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu — proactively write the ethics commissioner to explain that all was on the up and up, she dubbed the so-called wrongdoing a, “faux controversy,” to the media.

READ MORE: LaGrange decries “faux controversy” over mask contract in letter to ethics commissioner

In Jan. 2021, rdnewsNOW obtained internal emails (courtesy of The Breakdown) showing what appeared to be meddling by ministry staffers.

The ministry continued to deny any ethical wrongdoing.

“Minister LaGrange only learned of the winning vendors the day details were released to media,” a ministry spokesperson said in January. “Choices were made by non-partisan bureaucrats at the Provincial Operations Centre (under Municipal Affairs), who evaluated whether companies could meet both quality requirements and the demands of a large order in a very short amount of time.”

“In no way did anyone political direct or intervene in awarding this contract,” they added.

READ MORE: Education ministry maintains mask contracts done without political interference

Now, Trussler’s report outlines how multiple people included in the investigation claim to have forgotten certain details, including LaGrange’s chief of staff, the minister herself and other staffers.

Trussler calls this “grounds for suspicion,” however exhonerates the minister in the end.

“The Minister claims that she was not part of any discussion. It could be that she is not being forthright or it could be that, given the relatively last minute decision to put students back in the classroom and with the pressure and quantity of work involved, she did not remember what appears to have been a short discussion. Andre Corbould, Michael Walter and Linda Antunes all testified under oath that the Minister did not give a direction at the meeting, or any other time, to purchase IFR Workwear Inc. masks,” writes the commissioner.

“The fact that Mr. Radford made a political donation to the Minister’s campaign is irrelevant. There is no evidence that he or anyone else at IFR Workwear Inc. pushed to have its masks purchased for schools. IFR Workwear Inc. did not invite the Premier to tour its premises but, in fact, was asked by the Premier’s office if the Premier could make a stop there on the Premier’s Red Deer tour.”

Trussler continues, noting “crucial questions” remain.

“Where did the material about IFR Workwear Inc. come from and why did Michael Walter feel compelled to follow up on the company? Unfortunately, given the memories of the Deputy Minister, the Minister and Nicole Williams, it is not possible to say. It does not mean that they are not credible witnesses, but only that their memories are not reliable,” she says.

“The impression that was held by the POC that the decision to purchase IFR Workwear Inc. masks came from the Minister is just an impression and, even though strongly held, is not factual evidence directly implicating the Minister.”

Trussler notes that the minister herself categorically denied under oath that she gave any direction to purchases masks from IFR Workwear.

Minister LaGrange is scheduled to be in Medicine Hat for an event on Tuesday afternoon.

The full report by the Ethics Commissioner can be read here.