Carney’s Conflicts Exposed
Experts shred PM’s blind trust and conflict of interest screen
Ottawa, ON – Conservative members of the Ethics Committee released the following statement on its ongoing investigation into Prime Minister Mark Carney’s conflicts of interest:
“Yesterday, the Ethics Committee heard scathing testimony from Canada’s leading ethics and accountability experts on the façade that is Mark Carney’s so-called blind trust – and his conflict of interest screen which is nothing more than a smokescreen.
“Leading ethics and conflict of interest experts told MPs that these measures are entirely insufficient, and that Prime Minister Carney stands to make millions from his investments while keeping them largely hidden from Canadians. The breadth of Carney’s conflicts and potential to benefit financially are entirely unprecedented in federal Canadian politics.
“Carney was involved in structuring Brookfield’s Global Transition Funds, from which he is set to receive carried interest payments potentially worth tens of millions of dollars. Carney knows exactly what assets are in these funds, but he has refused to disclose them. If the funds make money, he makes money – and the decisions he makes as Prime Minister will impact their value.
“Democracy Watch founder Duff Conacher testified that the Conflict of Interest Act allows Carney to ‘secretly profit’ from ‘secret investments’ – dismissing blind trusts as ‘not blind at all’ – and confirmed that Carney knows exactly what is in his blind trust. It is only the public that is blind to the full extent of the Prime Minister’s holdings.
“As currently written, the Act allows the Prime Minister to participate in ‘99% of the decisions’ that impact his private investments. Conacher considers the legislation a ‘sad joke’ – noting that ‘any time [Carney] is making a decision that affects businesses in Canada, he is in a financial conflict of interest.’
“As York University’s Dr. Ian Steadman told the Committee, blind trusts simply ‘aren’t enough’ to prevent public office holders from advancing their personal financial interests.
“Witnesses also slammed the Prime Minister’s conflict of interest screen. The screen is enforced by Carney’s top two aides who serve at his pleasure and are not independent. It lacks any transparency or oversight mechanism, which Conacher noted is a violation of the Act.
“The Ethics Commissioner has the power to strengthen the ethics screen and enforce full transparency today. He has failed to do so. This is deeply troubling, and must be addressed.
“These revelations are just the tip of the iceberg in an ongoing investigation. Conservatives will continue to expose Mark Carney’s unprecedented conflicts of interests and fight to close the loopholes in the Act that the Prime Minister is taking advantage of.”