Canadian auditor to review online gambling plan

The review will examine the influence exerted by certain government officials on policy discussion related to the financial fortunes of companies they were financially invested in. The companies in question include Simplex, Capital Market Technologies, among others, and the findings are expected to pave the way for reform, ostensibly establishing a system that keeps government officials with personal interest in the outcome of legislation out of the voting and decision-making process for those specific initiatives. Penalties for undue participation could potentially be forthcoming to maintain and enforce those protections.

What reform means still is not completely clear. It is also unclear whether reform can take place without a full-scale house-cleaning, even as suspected government officials begin inching  away from the current tainted administration.

One such case is P.E.I.'s Conflict of Interest Commissioner Neil Robinson, who announced Sunday he was stepping down due to what he claimed was a “lack of confidence” in the legislature as a result of vehement complaints from opposition Progressive conservatives over his involvement in the online gambling case.

This lack of confidence clearly looks more like an erosion of faith. Tory Party Leader Rob Lantz clarified the opposition position against robinson and other scrutinized government officials, asserting that Robinson should have removed himself from all discussions specifically relating to e-gaming after he invested in a company linked to the e-gaming controversy.

MacLauchlan announced that retired Justice John McQuaid would replace Robinson as acting Conflict of Interest Commissioner, but this may just be the first of many voluntary or involuntary resignations from key government officials in the wake of the scandal, depending on the depth of the investigation and the extent of corruption ultimately revealed.