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From the CNA Journal

Former college officials under investigation

By Allison Furlong
The Troubador

The Newfoundland Justice department is investigating allegations against two former senior officials with the province's public college.

Pamela Walsh, former College of the North Atlantic (CNA) president, and Moya Cahill, former chairperson of the college's board of directors, allegedly received substantial gifts of money from the government of Qatar while visiting the college�s campus in that country in 2004.

The issue is whether accepting the gifts constituted a conflict of interest, since both Walsh and Cahill had a duty to represent the interests of the publicly owned college while dealing with the Qatari government.

In 2001, College of the North Atlantic signed a 10-year agreement with Qatar to develop a technology college in the oil rich country. Today, the campus has a student body of 1,300 and a staff of 300.

On September 30, the government announced the dismissal of Walsh and Cahill as part of an overall shakeup of the college administration. It also dismissed all but one member of the board of directors, saying the moves were part of a change in direction brought on by the White Paper on Post-Secondary Education.

Three days later, however, the government announced it was investigating Walsh and Cahill. The Education department said it received information about the president and the chairperson within two weeks before the allegations were announced.

Education Minister Tom Hedderson was in Qatar the same time Walsh and Cahill allegedly received the money in 2004.

The Opposition has criticized the Education minister himself for accepting a watch from the Qatari government at that time, but Hedderson said the exchanging of gifts is somewhat of a custom between the two parties.

�Every time we meet there is an exchange of gifts,� said Hedderson. �In this particular case, I brought along some Newfoundland and Labrador art, and I received a watch. It looked like an ordinary watch to me, but I checked it out, and it was anywhere from $500 to $2,000, so I made sure it was declared.�

Money, Hedderson said, is a different matter.

�With cash, it�s an absolute no-no,� he said. �Cash is a whole different thing. Once you receive it, the onus is on you as a public official to declare that you have received it, and it has to be done in a reasonable period of time.�

It is alleged that Walsh didn�t declare that she had received the money until 13 months after the visit.

Walsh is declining comment but did defend herself earlier this week in an email addressed to college employees, which was later made public by the Evening Telegram.

"I want you to know that any honoraria received from the Joint Oversight Board in Qatar to members of that Board who were also members of CNA's board were reported to government in accordance with the conflict of interest guidelines," said Walsh. "This appears to be a smear campaign - perhaps to avert any criticism related to my contract and their decision not to renew."

The Opposition has criticized the government for announcing the allegations against Walsh and Cahill before the investigation has been completed.

When asked why the allegations were announced publicly while still under investigation, a justice department spokesperson stated: �These are serious allegations that have not been proven and were released in the spirit of openness and accountability.�