Prime Minister Mark Carney says he expects the government’s ethics commissioner will recommend he set up a screen around his previous business dealings to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
The newly sworn-in leader has faced repeated questions, which have led to some testy exchanges, about whether his assets, now in a blind trust, open him up to controversy.
“There’s a discussion with the ethics commissioner for certain screens around certain issues and that’s a process that is underway,” said Carney during a news conference in Iqaluit Tuesday, where he reiterated that he believes he’s going above and beyond the existing conflict-of-interest rules.
“It’s a natural process and of course it’s part of the way our system works and I very much respect the system.”
Besides serving as both the governor for the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Carney worked in the private sector including as chair of the board at Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), one of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies.
According to Brookfield’s latest financial filings, Carney held stock options worth $6.8 million at the end of December.
Speaking in French, Carney said screens will probably be set up — as they were for former prime ministers Justin Trudeau and Paul Martin as well as several cabinet ministers — and said he and his team have already made proposals.
Carney said, for example, if a government decision were to majorly impact Brookfield Asset Management, that would clearly be a conflict and there would be a screen in place preventing him from weighing in.
Martin, who owned Canada Steamship Lines, put his assets in a blind trust when he joined Jean Chrétien’s cabinet and was advised to stay out of certain government decisions. Trudeau had a screen in place to stop him from weighing in on decisions affecting the private interests of his then-wife and another for the Aga Khan and his institutions.
Under the Conflict of Interest Act, a screen is agreed upon by a public office holder and the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to “minimize the possibility of conflicts arising between the public duties of the public office holder and their private interests or those of their relatives and friends.”
Screens are made public and include a description of the conflict of interest, the names of the individuals and/or entities involved, the title of the screen administrator and a statement from the public office holder agreeing to abstain from any discussions, decisions, debate or votes concerning the subject of the conflict of interest.
After winning the Liberal leadership last week, Carney announced that he put his assets in a blind trust. Under the current government ethics rules meant to guard against conflicts of interest, Carney had 60 days to disclose his assets to the ethics commissioner upon being sworn in and another 60 days before that information goes public.
Conservatives call for more disclosures
Despite following the law, Carney’s work in the private sector and his quick ascension to the prime minister’s office have become a point of attack from the Conservatives.
During a news conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, Opposition ethics critic Michael Barrett called on Carney to disclose what assets he held before they were put into the blind trust.
Asked if he has faith in the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to do its job, Barrett said Carney is running the country before any rulings or public disclosures need to be made.
“We have Mr. Carney who’s taking international meetings, setting national policy and making decisions, signing orders,” Barrett said, all while the ethics commissioner is reviewing the prime minister’s file.
“And what is the impact on his personal wealth, his personal investments as a result of that?”
Conservative MPs Pierre Paul-Hus and Michael Barrett say Mark Carney’s role in moving the headquarters for Brookfield Asset Management from Toronto to New York before he was a Liberal leadership candidate meant he was ‘not standing up to Donald Trump.’
Asked Monday during a stop in London if he should disclose which stocks he held before they were put into the blind trust, Carney said the question relies on an assumption of “ill will” and that he is being held to a different standard.
“Your line of questioning is trying to invent new rules. I’m complying with the rules that Parliament has laid out and … I will continue to comply with those rules,” he said.
“I’m complying with the rules of the ethics commissioner, going through the processes and all those things that are necessary.”
The prime minister then pivoted, pointing out how Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre refuses get his security clearance to read classified documents concerning foreign interference.
