Vancouver Information and Newspaper

YELLOWKNIFE – In a ruling saying that there’s no good time to confess an affair, Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland will not be disciplined for a secret relationship he conducted with a legislature staff member.

“There is neither a book nor a set of guidelines to follow in order to determine when to make disclosure of such a relationship,” wrote Ted Hughes, the territory’s conflict of interest commissioner, in the judgment released late Friday.

Last fall, Floyd began an affair with Patricia Russell, a legislative clerk to several committees composed of MLAs not serving in cabinet. Under the territory’s consensus-style government, there are no political parties and MLAs who aren’t in cabinet function as a kind of opposition.

Regular MLAs use the committees to strategize and sometimes to criticize cabinet members and government policy. Some of those MLAs felt Roland’s affair gave him access to confidential discussions and information.

Last May, six MLAs signed a complaint asking Hughes to rule on whether Roland had violated the territory’s conflict of interest rules.

In his decision, Hughes found that Roland did violate the guidelines and should have disclosed the relationship earlier instead of allowing it to continue in secret for months.

“The fact is he did not make the disclosure until he was satisfied that his relationship with Ms. Russell had cemented into a permanent one,” Hughes wrote.

Roland’s first responsibility was to his fellow MLAs and to the legislature itself, wrote Hughes.

“Premier Roland made an error in judgment … He acknowledged in hindsight he probably should have come forward sooner with his disclosure.”

Still, Hughes found that Roland meant no harm and did not recommend discipline.

“He left me in no doubt that his error of judgment was one made in good faith.”

Roland and Russell now live together. Both have spouses and children. Roland was not available for comment.

The conflict of interest inquiry is the second challenge Roland has faced to his leadership. He survived a non-confidence vote in both his premiership and his cabinet in February.

Four out of the last five premiers of the N.W.T. have faced some sort of attempt or threatened attempt to remove them from office. The only one who didn’t was Jim Antoine, who served for 10 months in 1998 after Don Morin was forced out.