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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, is now the subject of a formal conflict of interest examination by the federal ethics watchdog.

Mary Dawson’s office confirmed Tuesday that the ethics commissioner has launched an examination of Wright’s dealings with Barrick Gold Corp., under section 45 of the Conflict of Interest Act.

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That section empowers the commissioner to act on her own initiative — without waiting for an MP or senator to request an investigation — if she has reason to believe someone has contravened the act.

“The fact that she’s decided, on her own, to look into this and launch an investigation speaks to the seriousness of the allegation,” said New Democrat ethics critic Charlie Angus, who had been contemplating asking Dawson to investigate the matter.

At issue is whether Wright improperly used his influential position to further the private interests of friends at Barrick. The company lobbied Wright on three separate occasions in May despite his personal connections to the company’s founding family.