The Official Opposition has written the Commissioner for Legislative Standards asking for an investigation into alleged conflicts of interest by the premier.

In particular, MHA Barry Petten says Premier Andrew Furey has not backed up his claims of “my time, my dime” regarding a 2021 fishing trip to a luxury lodge owned by John Risley, a businessman with an invested stake in the province’s developing wind-to-hydrogen industry.

Defending the trip in comments made last fall, Furey argued that he has “ethical walls” in place, and that everything was done above board. When the PCs asked Furey to table receipts for the trip, he would not do so.

Petten says he hopes the review will give answers to the questions he asked in the House of Assembly, but didn’t get answers to.

He says even if everything was done right, the optics of the situation are bad. He says if the investigation comes back and everything is above board, that’s fine. But he notes he’s never gotten answers to his questions.

While Petten has requested the review, the commissioner has not yet officially announced that they will be taking on the investigation.

In a statement, the Premier’s Office says that he was made aware by the media that the report has been filed, and that he has regular communication with the commissioner.

Statement by Premier:

The media have made the Premier’s Office aware of a letter from the PC House Leader to the Commissioner for Legislative Standards (Acting) regarding a personal vacation the Premier personally paid for a year and a half ago, in July of 2021.

The Premier has regular communication with the commissioner.

As the Premier has stated on several occasions when asked about his personal vacation time, he is very grateful to have the opportunity to go fishing with his father — an activity the two have enjoyed for many years prior to the Premier holding this position and one he plans to continue engaging in during and after his time in office.

As the Premier has stated many times, the topic of wind energy is not new and a number of jurisdictions have developed wind projects. Wind energy has long been discussed in Newfoundland and Labrador, including but not limited to:

1. By the Premier during his 2020 leadership campaign;

2. In the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Winter 2021 election platform;

3. In the PC Party’s Blueprint for the Winter 2021 Election.