REGINA - Regina South Albert MLA Aleana Young is the latest to face scrutiny from the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, this time over social media posts about her cheese store business.
Commissioner Maurice Herauf confirms in an email to SASKTODAY.ca “that my office has received a request pursuant to s. 29(1) of The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act with respect to Ms. Aleana Young. Pursuant to that section, I determined that there were reasonable and probable grounds to proceed under ss. 29(1) and 30(1)(a) of the Act and advised the parties of that determination on Nov. 5, 2024. I have no further comment as this matter remains ongoing.”
Section 29(1) states a "member who has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that another member is in contravention of this Act may request, by application in writing setting out the grounds for the belief and the nature of the contravention alleged, that the commissioner give an opinion respecting the compliance of the other member with the provisions of this Act." Section 30(1)(a) states the commissioner may conduct an inquiry on receiving a request under s. 29.
It has been confirmed by the NDP that Young’s social media accounts are being reviewed, including mainly her Instagram account but also posts on her MLA page on Facebook. Her social media posts have typically included both her usual legislative or politics-related content as well as ones highlighting her cheese business’s achievements.
Young said in a statement released Friday that she is working with the Commissioner and says she is hoping to bring clarity to these guidelines.
“Technology is changing fast, and I’m sure my work with the Commissioner will be helpful for all members of the Legislature,” said Young. “It’s a privilege to represent our constituents and we’re always looking at ways we can best use these new tools to communicate directly with them.”
At a news conference Monday morning, NDP Ethics and Democracy Critic Meara Conway spoke about why it was important for the Conflict of Interest Commissioner to make a ruling in this area, given how murky the rules were on social media issues.
“The current rules were not built for a time when MLAs were using social media the way that they do,” Conway said. “We see multiple MLAs, whether it's Aleana Young promoting her small business, or the Premier tweeting about Harvest from his tractor from his political account. I think everyone from backbenchers to Scott Moe will benefit from the ruling of the Commissioner, it will provide much-needed guidance and we welcome the investigation. It's a very novel issue. The Commissioner will be the first to say that. There's not a lot of guidance. And so we all welcome that, absolutely.”
Conway expressed confidence that Commissioner Maurice Herauf “will look at this from all the angles.”
“He's a very intelligent man with a prolific legal background, much more so than mine. So I'm looking forward to reading his report. And I feel it will provide the guidance that we need.”
Conway told reporters she thinks it's “fortunate that the Commissioner is looking into this and will provide some clarity. Probably we'll end up being ahead of many jurisdictions in Canada for having this investigation.”
Young is the latest MLA facing an investigation from the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Earlier this fall, former Sask Party MLA Gary Grewal was found to have violated the Members Conflict of Interest Act over his interest in two hotels in Regina, while Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill is being investigated over his role as a salesperson with the business Fortress Windows and Doors.
