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B.C.’s NDP government has responded to a video posted by the B.C. Green Party accusing the minister responsible for artificial intelligence of having a conflict of interest by investing in a fund that includes AI stocks. By saying that green M.L.A. I own similar investments.
In the video, BC Green Party Leader Emily Rowan calls AI Minister Rick Glumak a “big name investor” who “may be lining his own pockets” and “putting our future at risk.”
The video mentions Grumak’s holdings in an exchange-traded fund called Global
In response, the NDP highlighted that Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote’s own disclosure statement lists similar funds that hold Oracle and Tesla.
“Like Mr. Grumak, Mr. Valeriote holds these investments as a small portion of a larger fund that he does not manage,” the BC NDP said in a statement.
Near the end of Rowan’s video, Valeriote and fellow Green MLAs Rob Botterell shows up and talks about how Glumak should consult B.C.’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner.
The B.C. NDP said Grumak did so more than two months ago.
In a Jan. 9 letter distributed by the NDP on Friday, Commissioner Jeffrey Schnorr wrote that Grumak’s $4,000 investment in AIQ was “not a significant amount” and that it was “very unlikely that any decision will be made before you that meaningfully impacts the value of AIQ.”
“Therefore, we are satisfied that concerns under the Member Conflicts of Interest Act are unlikely to arise with respect to your holdings in AIQ,” Schnorr said.
“However, as I have said, the public may have different views on whether AIQ is a suitable investment given a minister’s portfolio, but that is a matter of your own best political judgement.”
A government spokeswoman said Grumak decided last month to hand over management of his investment portfolio to an adviser and was in the process of updating his disclosure forms.
CBC News requested an interview with Grumak, but he did not respond.
