Finance Minister Bill Morneau鈥檚 sponsorship of Bill C-27 and simultaneous ownership of $21 million in shares from Morneau Shepell was a "huge error of judgment," former House of Commons law clerk Rob Walsh says, regardless of it being cleared by the ethics commissioner.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand how Mr. Morneau, and the other ministers as well, could think that they were complying with the spirit of the Conflict of Interest Act by holding assets through numbered companies . . . That just astounds me,鈥� Walsh told CTV Power Play鈥檚 Don Martin.
Led by Morneau, Bill C-27 proposes reform to the Pension Benefits Standards Act. While sponsoring the bill, Morneau owned millions in shares from his family鈥檚 company Morneau Shepell. The company operates in the pension industry and has , and says it has done so 鈥渄ating back to when it was originally considered by the previous government.鈥�
Morneau recently told
"As you probably know, I have been focused on pension issues for decades. I've been very involved in working and advocacy to improve pensions for Canadians," Morneau said.
But Walsh, who has written a book on his time in Ottawa called said that a finance minister should follow a higher standard.
鈥淲hen you get to a minister of the Crown -- a finance minister -- putting in legislation affecting pensions, and he鈥檚 in the business of pensions? . . . I mean what happened here? Why didn鈥檛 you wake up to this?鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淗e should鈥檝e known better.鈥�
Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has not yet confirmed whether or not there will be a formal investigation into Morneau鈥檚 involvement with the bill; however, she said that since Morneau鈥檚 shares were held indirectly using private companies,
With files from The Canadian Press
