This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://hatchetmedia.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">hatchetmedia.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>It’s not surprising that Prince Edward Island gets ignored by most of the press outside of the Maritimes. It’s by far the smallest province, with less than 200,000 residents. And the last time PEI politics were being covered nationally was when PEI senator Mike Duffy was at the centre of a massive expense scandal well over a decade ago.</p><p>But that lack of attention is a disservice. Because PEI isn’t just a collection of small communities. It’s a full-fledged province, with equal standing in Confederation, and with a government responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in spending.</p><p>For a relatively small place, those are some pretty high stakes.</p><p>So I was really interested to read about a possible corruption scandal that’s come out in the province, which has already led to the resignation of a cabinet minister and is being investigated by the RCMP. It involves allegations of a golf course development, sensitive wetlands and allegations of bribery. Which sounds like your cookie-cutter corruption scandal.</p><p>But there’s a lot of things about this story that are out of the ordinary. First off, this alleged bribe wasn’t paid to the politician, but to a sort of do-gooder group of retired francophone teachers. And secondly, it was the premier himself that exposed his alleged corruption.</p><p>So I decided to give a call to Stu Neatby, the political reporter for <em>The Guardian</em>, PEI’s paper of record. Alongside trying to parse through this corruption scandal, Stu also walks us through the state of PEI politics and another strange conflict-of-interest case involving another PEI minister, who just wants to go fishing. It’s the most Prince Edward Island political story you’ll ever hear.</p><p>Featured in this episode: Stu Neatby</p><p><strong>To Learn More:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/pei-rcmp-confirm-gilles-arsenault-under-investigation">"RCMP confirm former P.E.I. cabinet minister under investigation" </a>by Stu Neatby in <em>The Guardian</em></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/i-never-wanted-to-break-rules-former-p-e-i-minister-arsenault-says-permit-change-was-never-linked-to-donation">"'I never wanted to break rules': Former P.E.I. minister Arsenault says permit change was never linked to donation"</a> by Stu Neatby in <em>The Guardian</em></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/lobster-fishing-minister-sidney-macewen-receives-10-day-reprieve-from-pei-conflict-of-interest-deadline">"P.E.I. lobster-fishing minister says conflict laws will need to change"</a> by Stu Neatby in <em>The Guardian</em></p>