Birthday gifts to CRTC's Vennard breach conflict guidelines

OTTAWA – CRTC commissioner Dr. Linda Vennard broke the Conflict of Interest Act by accepting flowers and chocolates on her birthday from a radio broadcaster, says the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.According to a report by Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, Vennard, then the newly appointed commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, received the gifts from representatives of Multicultural Broadcasting Corporation Inc. and Asia Broadcasting Corporation Inc., CRTC-licensed companies operating two radio stations commercially branded as RED FM, including one in Calgary. The gifts had been sent to her at the CRTC's Calgary...