Nunavut MP broke conflict of interest rules but ‘errors of judgement made in good faith’: ethics commissioner

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout broke conflict of interest rules when she expensed five gifts from a business she owns and rented her husband’s bed and breakfast using taxpayer money between 2024 and 2025.

The House of Commons Ethics Commissioner released its findings on Sept 2.

However, Idlout acted in “good faith” and the ethics commissioner recommended Idlout not be punished by Parliament.

“She did not realize that making purchases from two businesses would further her or her spouse’s private interests,” said ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein.

“She also repaid the House of Commons as soon as the errors were brought to her attention. In my view, this shows a true desire to fully remedy each instance of non-compliance.”

Idlout purchased $1,906 worth of goods from Carvings Nunavut in Iqaluit, which she owns, and gifted the sculptures to First Nations leaders, Elders, the Kivalliq Long-Term Care Elders Centre, Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus, and Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs Rebecca Chartrand.

“She selected the items in the gallery, made the purchases herself and, per her usual process, had her staff prepare the claims for reimbursement, which she approved in the House’s financial portal before they were submitted,” von Finckenstein said.

On March 4, Idlout planned to travel from Iglulik to Sanirajak with two staff members, but the hotel in Sanirajak was full, Idlout told von Finckenstein.

Instead, Idlout and her staff members booked a bed and breakfast owned by her husband in Iglulik, called Al’s B&B.

Von Finckenstein did not disclose how much the stay cost at Al’s B&B for March 4 and 5.

However, Idlout paid back all the expenses she incorrectly she charged to her office.

“When Ms. Idlout realized she had committed an error in claiming these expenses, she immediately wanted to correct it and repaid the full amounts to the House of Commons as soon as she could,” von Finckenstein said.

Furthermore, Idlout argued that gifts were mostly handmade by Inuit artists from Nunavut and given while visiting dignitaries and Indigenous leaders.