Ethics counsellor Howard Wilson's report on allegations the solicitor general broke federal ethics rules has been delivered and Lawrence MacAulay's political future is now in Prime Minister Jean Chretien's hands.

CTV News Staff

Ethics counsellor Howard Wilson's report on allegations the solicitor general broke federal ethics rules has been delivered and Lawrence MacAulay's political future is now in Prime Minister Jean Chretien's hands.

Wilson reportedly contacted Chretien in Lebanon where the prime minister is attending the Francophonie Summit and sent him his final report.

"I have to study the report and when I have an answer you won't have to ask me I'll give it to you," Chretien told reporters in Beirut.

It's expected the prime minister will go through the report Saturday.

Wilson tied up his two-week investigation Friday with a 20 to 30 minute meeting at MacAulay's Ottawa Office.

Shortly before the meeting, MacAulay told reporters that he intended to speak frankly to the ethics counsellor.

"I'm only too pleased to tell him the facts and that's what I'm going to do in a moment," MacAulay said.

Chretien will have the final say on MacAulay's future. However, CTV's Cortney Pasternak said a decision likely won't come until at least Monday, when the prime minister is back on Canadian soil.

The prime minister has said he will be guided by Wilson's findings. CTV's Mike Duffy said Wilson's report is likely to exonerate MacAulay.

"I think they (the Liberals) realize that if Lawrence MacAulay is forced out on things that are fairly minor in terms of the potential for difficulties, then the spotlight will turn on others," Duffy said.

Wilson was in Prince Edward Island last week investigating the circumstances surrounding an untendered $70,000 consulting contract awarded to the accounting firm of Everett Roche, MacAulay's personal agent in two federal elections. The deal was later extended to $140,000.

Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper, speaking with Duffy later Friday, said he believes an independent investigation should be conducted of MacAulay, possibly by the auditor general.

"What's most distressing for me here is to see the so-called ethics commissioner meeting with Mr. MacAulay, meeting with the prime minister," Harper said. "We should have an individual who's independent coming down with independent judgments.

"(Wilson) should not be negotiating these things with the various parties involved."

Allegations widen

In addition to the contract awarded to Roche's firm, MacAulay has been accused of awarding a second contract to Tim Banks, the P.E.I. Liberal Party president. Banks' firm APM Group received about $120,000 to manage a $4-million renovation of Charlottetown's Confederation Centre.

In yet another twist, Friday's Globe and Mail reports the federal government poured $1 million into a golfing academy in MacAulay's riding in 1998, a project in which Roche was a main player.

Published reports said Wilson will clear MacAulay of the conflict of interest allegations regarding the first consulting contract with Roche's firm. However, a spokesman for the solicitor general said the minister hasn't been handed in any interim conclusions.

"That's not how it works," said spokesperson Dan Brien. "I think Mr. Wilson is going to be talking to the prime minister before he starts talking to everyone else about what conclusions he has reached."

Wilson had been expected to hand his report to Chretien on Tuesday, but the prime minister had more questions surrounding the case and asked Wilson to make further investigations. The PMO declined to specify what else the ethics counsellor was examining.

It is unclear if Wilson has included the golfing academy allegation in his report.

MacAulay has repeatedly said that he followed Treasury Board guidelines for awarding contracts and denies doing anything wrong.

Rumours of MacAulay's possible departure from cabinet over the scandal intensified Monday when he was absent from an appointment with Queen Elizabeth, who was visiting Ottawa at the end of her 12-day tour of Canada.

MacAulay was originally scheduled to escort the Queen when she visited the RCMP Equestrian Centre. But government officials said it was a bureaucratic mistake and that he never intended to be part of the function.