Poilievre’s Plan Means Accountability For a Change
Canada can’t afford a fourth term of Liberal waste and scandals, says Poilievre, pledging an end to conflicts of interest, shadow lobbying and politicians using tax loopholes.
Ottawa, ON — Today, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced his plan to strengthen the Accountability Act to end the Lost Liberal Decade of corruption and insider dealings in Ottawa. The new rules will close loopholes like the one that Mark Carney used to be appointed as an ‘unpaid advisor’ and set government policy while he lined his own pockets.
“Mark Carney is already the most conflicted Prime Minister in Canadian history,” Pierre Poilievre said. “His conflicts touch everything – from his business interests in nuclear energy to real estate to income tax laws. He has a long record of putting his interests first when he was supposed to be working for you. The last ten years have been about the Liberals, the next decade should be about you–For a Change.”
Poilievre outlined the highlights of his plan:
1. Ban shadow lobbyists and close the Carney loophole by requiring anyone advising the government directly or indirectly, who stands to gain financially from their advice, to register as a lobbyist.
2. Ban politicians from making decisions that benefit themselves or their families disproportionately, and require Ethics Commissioner approval and full public disclosure of all personal interests.
3. Increase fines for ethics violations to $10,000.
4. Tax transparency. Require anyone running for public office to disclose where they paid taxes for the last seven years.
5. Require cabinet ministers to divest fully from tax havens and disclose assets to the Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, with penalties for non-compliance. No more so-called blind trusts that only blind the public.
6. Require party leaders to disclose their assets within 30 days of becoming leader and require Prime Ministers to divest their assets within 30 days of assuming office.
After being appointed as Trudeau’s senior economic advisor, Mark Carney never had to register as a lobbyist, disclose his conflicts of interest or answer to Canadians. He was able to advise the government behind closed doors despite media reports that he had a history of using such advisory positions to benefit Brookfield, the company he chaired, financially.
As an advisor to the UK government, he lobbied for expanded heat pump subsidies that would have benefited a heat pump company that Brookfield owned. The chairman of the company even admitted “Mark is working on our behalf in Government.”
As Prime Minister, Carney benefits from hiding his Brookfield funds in offshore tax havens because the current rules don’t require him to sell them, which is the only way to prevent a conflict of interest. The current rules let him get away with moving his assets into a so-called blind trust, but the only people who are left “blind” are Canadian voters, while Carney knows what is in the trust because he put it there.
“Under the Lost Liberal Decade, political insiders have cashed in while Canadians have lost out,” Pierre Poilievre said. “From insiders lobbying to escape criminal charges to hundreds of millions of your money given to well-connected firms who don’t even do the work they were hired for. It’s unethical, and it needs to be stopped.”
Canadians can’t afford a fourth Liberal term where well-connected insiders and Carney’s personal interests get a pass, while hard-working Canadians get the bill. We need to restore accountability with a new Conservative government that will end corruption and put Canada First – For a Change.