Press Release: Ethics Commissioner Refuses to Reveal Status of Investigation
March 31, 2026
Through a change to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner’s Information on Investigations bulletin, the ethics commissioner has refused to reveal whether an investigation was opened into the conduct of Minister Todd Loewen.
“An Ethics Commissioner is responsible for promoting accountability in our government,” says Ruiping Luo, Conservation Specialist with Alberta Wilderness Association. “How can we be sure the ethics commissioner is fulfilling his role when his office lacks transparency?”
“Transparency is fundamental to public trust,” says Maggie Spizzirri, Executive Director of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy. “When processes are unclear, it limits the ability of Albertans to understand how accountability is being upheld.”
In November 2025, we called for an investigation, providing evidence that Minister Loewen was in violation of Alberta’s Conflicts of Interest Act.
Having received no response, we followed up on this investigation in February 2026. We were directed to the Information on Investigations bulletin, updated in 2026.
The bulletin states, “The person who made the request for an investigation is not informed that an investigation is commenced but may be contacted to provide additional information or evidence, either to assist in determining whether to commence an investigation or to provide evidence in an investigation.”
This is a change from the previous bulletin, which states, “The Commissioner may seek further particulars from the person or body requesting the investigation before deciding to conduct one.”
This change is another attack on government transparency. By not revealing whether an investigation has been refused, the ethics commissioner is preventing action from being taken and shielding corruption in our government.
The current Ethics Commissioner, Shawn McLeod, was appointed in 2024. His appointment was highly controversial, as he had connections with the elected party and had been a previous election candidate before pulling out of the race.
Since his appointment, McLeod has not opened any investigations, despite several known requests. For instance, he refused to investigate a Conflict of interest in the case of David Yager, serving on the Alberta Energy Regulator’s Board of Directors while continuing to act as a fossil fuel industry consultant. He has also refused several previous requests, excluding the letter from AWA, to investigate Minister Loewen for Conflicts of Interest considering his ties to outfitters.
We received the following reply from the Office of the Ethics Commissioner in response to our inquiry:
Thank you for your email.
Please refer to the “Information on Investigations” Information Bulletin which is available on our website here: https://www.ethicscommissioner.ab.ca/publications/information-bulletins/. In particular, there is information on page 2 of that bulletin explaining when a person who makes a request for investigation will or will not be contacted.
Thank you,
Office of the Ethics Commissioner
For more information, contact:
Ruiping Luo, (403)283-2025, rluo@abwild.ca
Maggie Spizzirri, (250) 814-3840, mspizzirri@exposedwc.org
