Blind trust: the shooting of a group of the opposition against the minister Bill Morneau

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Maxime Huard

Tuesday, 17 October 2017 12:39

UPDATE
Tuesday, 17 October 2017 12:45

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OTTAWA-The opposition has requested Tuesday morning that shed light on the situation of the minister of Finance Bill Morneau, who failed to place its assets substantially in a blind trust.

The New democratic Party (NDP) has sent a letter to the commissioner of conflict of interest and ethics, Mary Dawson, to investigate the situation of the minister.

“How can we accept that the Finance minister of a G7 country to still have control of its assets? It still has the possibility of filing bills that benefit his company” has requested the parliamentary chief of the party, Guy Caron.

The training judge as Mr. Morneau, as the initiator of the bill C-27 amending the standards of delivery of pension, will place you directly in a conflict of interest. The company in which it holds shares and that he ran before entering politics, Morneau Sheppell, administers pension plans.

The NDP believes that the minister would have had to put all his assets in a blind trust upon his entry into service. “That it has not already done so is either a lack of judgement, or hypocrisy,” said the spokesperson néodémocrate in ethics, Nathan Cullen.

Motion for full transparency

The official opposition claims that the minister Bill Morneau reveals all of its assets to restore its “moral authority”.

“The minister of Finance is the most important person in the government after the prime minister. It is the architect of the economic decisions of the country, said the conservative mp Gérard Deltell. It should give accurate information about his situation.”

According to the conservatives, the public has the right to know whether or not the assets of Mr. Morneau is placed in a conflict of interest. The party will table a motion to this effect on Tuesday in the House of commons.

The official opposition will, however, not so far as to claim that the minister put all his assets in a blind trust or in flakes. “We will see when all the documents will be revealed”, said the spokesperson for the conservative in matters of Finance, Pierre Poilievre.

Controversy

Following his election in 2015, the minister Morneau did not place his assets in a blind trust, as did the prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The Office of the conflict of interest and ethics recommends that the elected officials who have assets placed in a blind trust or sell them. Mr. Morneau has not exercised neither the one nor the other of these options.

The minister held in 2015, a little over 2 million shares of the firm specializing in human resources Morneau Sheppell, assets of approximately $30 million.

In visit in a factory of Montreal, Mr. Morneau was repeated on Tuesday that he had followed to the letter the recommendations of the commissioner, Mary Dawson. If it requires in future as he places his assets in a blind trust, the minister reiterated that he would. However, he refused to commit themselves to take the lead in the matter, or to make public the nature of all of its assets.