The removal of Gilles Arsenault from provincial cabinet and his suspension from the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative caucus is raising questions about the roles politicians are expected to play, and where the lines are drawn.

Arsenault’s removal is tied to an alleged $100,000 donation made by a private developer to a non-profit group in the district he represents.

The developer felt changes to a development permit were contingent on the donation, but Arsenault said the two are not related and he was simply trying to help a non-profit group that he knew did “great work” for community.

Lori Turnbull, a professor in the faculty of management at Dalhousie University, said the situation shows how complicated a politician’s job can be.

She said cabinet ministers are expected to do two things at once: represent and advocate for the people in their district, and make broader decisions that affect the entire province.

“We expect ministers to wear two hats.… Where does one stop and one start? And so what was the right thing for him to do? He was supposed to recuse himself, he was supposed to say, ‘Well, I can’t help you because I’m a minister’ — then what kind of MLA is he then?” Turnbull told CBC’s Island Morning on Wednesday.

“I don’t want to say there’s a conflict of interest here, but there’s almost a kind of tension in the responsibilities.… There’s shades of gray on all this stuff.”

P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz has said he will decide Arsenault’s future in caucus following an investigation by the province’s conflict of interest commissioner.

Turnbull added that conflict of interest rules in Canada have become stricter over time, especially when it comes to how things look to the public.

“It’s not even that they want to make sure that there’s no conflict of interest for real,” she said. “They want to make sure that there’s no appearance of conflict of interest.”  

‘A very careful premier’

In removing Arsenault from cabinet, Lantz said in a statement on Saturday that although the MLA had “positive intentions,” he “made a serious error of judgement for which he’s been held accountable.”

“It strikes me that this premier is being quite careful,” Turnbull said. “Especially if he thinks that the person did nothing wrong and that he didn’t mean anything by it, if he’s taking him out of cabinet and taking him out of caucus for what he thinks is a lapse in judgment on the appearances of things, that’s a very careful premier.”

She said situations like this can quickly grow into bigger political problems, even if no rules were broken. Leaders often act fast in removing someone from cabinet or launching an investigation to get ahead of the issue, she said.

UPEI political science professor Don Desserud said that’s what Lantz has done.

He noted Lantz only recently became the permanent leader of the Progressive Conservatives, winning a close race in February with just over half the vote count.

“A lot of questions were raised about whether he was  in full control of his caucus, in full control of his cabinet. Doesn’t matter whether those are true or fair, but … he has to show that he is definitely the guy in charge,” Desserud said.

“He’s absolutely right, by the way, that you have to do these things quickly. You can’t let these things fester over time.”

Possible impact on public opinion

Desserud said the situation could affect how some people view the government, especially voters who aren’t strongly tied to any party.

“One of the more effective criticisms that we’re seeing now from the opposition parties is that all the government’s in chaos, they don’t have their act together,” he said. “That’s a strong message that will alienate those people who are sitting on a fence.”

Arsenault is now sitting as an independent member of the legislature. That could make his job harder.

Desserud said independent MLAs often have less access to party resources, committee roles and support. That could lead some people in his district to question how effective he can be.

“It’s tough being an independent,” Desserud said. “You don’t have that party support.”