The Government of Alberta has announced their recommendation for Shawn McLeod to be appointed as the province’s next ethics commissioner. McLeod brings a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors, having worked as a lawyer in private practice, counsel to the Federal Department of Justice and Alberta Labour Relations Board, and in-house counsel for industrial construction company JV Driver Group and energy company Canadian Natural Resources Limited. He has also held the role of deputy minister of labor relations from April 2019 to last June and has since served as a special advisor doing project work for the deputy minister of executive council.
McLeod holds degrees in arts, business, and law from the University of Alberta and a French language certificate from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi. He is a member of the St’uxwtews (Bonaparte) First Nation and has lived with his wife in Edmonton for many years.
The ethics commissioner serves as an officer of the legislature and advises MLAs on conflicts of interest, conducts investigations, and inquires. Upon the recommendation of the legislative assembly, the Lieutenant Governor in council appoints the ethics commissioner. McLeod will replace Marguerite Trussler, who has held the role for a decade and recently found that Premier Danielle Smith violated conflict-of-interest rules by intervening in a criminal case. Trussler also determined that no rules were broken when Alberta’s former chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, was hired and then promptly fired from a new job with the province.
The Select Special Ethics Commissioner and Chief Electoral Officer Search committee, which includes MLAs from both the UCP and Alberta NDP and is chaired by MLA Tany Yao, conducted the search for a new ethics commissioner. The committee also seeks a new chief electoral officer, with the expectation that both appointments will be made by this fall.
The opposition has criticized the appointment of McLeod, calling it a “party insider” move. NDP MLA Irfan Sabir emphasized the importance of non-partisanship in the role of ethics commissioner and expressed concern that the UCP members of the search committee nominated McLeod, a previous UCP nomination candidate.