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In the wake of the revelations that the University of Laurentian was hiding financial documents from the public, the province’s independent integrity commissioner has put a warrant out for the university’s corporate secretary’s records.
Darrell Miller said that he is concerned about the university’s “intention to obstruct and delay releasing this information.”
As in the board of governors, corporate secretary Steven Harvey would be required to provide the documents.
The university says there is no breach of any ethics or the Conflict of Interest Act.
The university statement on the matter reads: “Compliance with the Edmonton Journal article by individuals to whom information is placed may require the hospital to provide access to these documents. Any responsible information disclosure process should allow for this access.”
Catherine McFadden, MLA for Glenside, which includes Laurentian University, has asked the Commissioner of Integrity to request all information related to Laurentian University.
McFadden plans to challenge Laurentian University for its “complete lack of transparency and accountability” as well as public trust.
She said: “The fact that over 100,000 records have not been fully made public raises serious questions regarding the integrity of the university’s board of governors.
“These records are crucial to determining the university’s finances, but so far have been hidden from the public. These latest revelations are the latest reminder that the university must operate under a higher standard of accountability and transparency if they want to be trusted with the province’s taxpayers’ money.”
Last week, the university defied a request by the Edmonton Journal to publicize financial information for the past five years, citing privacy, confidentiality and concerns over teacher compensation.
The university said that the information “should not be disclosed publicly.”