Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson: I have no had an official request from the PM to investigate anything relating to Ms. Guergis.
Anna Maria Tremonti, The Current: Who has requested then, if he hasn't?
MD: I haven't had any request.
AMT: From anyone?
MD: No. Um..
AMT: So when you say you decided not to...
MD: I have also got the power to self-initiate if I feel I've got reasonable grounds, but I have very little information at this time.
AMT: So you're saying you don't have enough information to decide to go ahead. Where would you get that information that you need to decide.
MD: Well I'm monitoring the situation by watching news reports and whatnot, but I have a responsibility, basically... the reason why that notice, that press release went out is that it was in the public domain and I have to consider the person that a complaint is made about. Once it was out in the public domain, I had to let her know what the situation was. Umm. So.
AMT: But you're telling me you're getting the information the way the rest of us are?
MD: Uh, well, I've had one referral from the PM, but it wasn't an official request.
...
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/04/guergisjafferwatch-wait-the-ethics-commissioner-never-got-a-guergis-reference-from-the-pm.html#socialcomments============================================================================================================
Either this is very uncoordinated, or someone wanted to give the impression this was being looked into, without actually ordering that it be looked into.