OTTAWA - The Federal Court of Appeal has rejected a claim that Prime Minister Stephen Harper violated federal ethics law in setting up a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.
The lobby group Democracy Watch contended that Harper and his cabinet were in a conflict of interest in choosing a judge and establishing terms of reference for the probe.
The group said the Conservative government should have called on an independent authority, such as the federal director of public prosecutions, to decide how to shape the legal ground rules for any inquiry.
Mary Dawson, the federal ethics commissioner, rejected the claim last year, saying there was no credible evidence Harper had broken conflict-of-interest law.
A three-judge appeal panel ruled unanimously Thursday it has no jurisdiction to overturn Dawson's finding.
The inquiry, under Justice Jeffrey Oliphant, is investigating the business dealings between former Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney and German-Canadian arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber.
A final report isn't expected until the end of this year.
