OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Canadian MPs voted to launch an ethics investigation of Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney to look into whether or not there is a conflict of interest because of his personal “corporate and shareholding interests” while serving as the nation’s leader.
“The standard needs to be very high for people who want to serve in Canada’s highest office,” said Conservative MP Michael Barrett, who sponsored the motion.
“Canadians expect that. We need this transparency,” he added.
Conservative, NDP, and Bloc Québécois MPs all voted in favor in a 170-164 vote to pass Barrett’s motion calling for the probe. Green Party leader Elizabeth May was the only non-Liberal MP to vote against the motion, joining all Liberal MPs.
The motion asks the House of Commons ethics committee to look into Carney’s personal financial disclosures as well as blind trust arrangements he made before becoming prime minister.
This past July, a 16-page report detailed Carney’s private investments that include stock options in federally regulated companies such as Coca-Cola, Tesla, Canadian Pacific, Netflix, oil companies, and Microsoft.
Carney’s holdings are now in a blind trust with a “conflict of interest screen.”
According to Barrett, “Canadians are the ones left blind while the Prime Minister continues to be aware of how he can benefit from the decisions he takes, how they will improve his financial standing and how he can make more money based on the decisions he or his government takes while he is in office.”
“That is why this review of the Conflict of Interest Act is so necessary,” he said.
In particular, Barrett’s motion asks about Carney’s connections to the Brookfield Corporation.
“Should a Prime Minister have investments in tax havens? I would say no,” Barrett told his fellow MPs while speaking about the motion.
“They should be paying taxes like everyone else, not using accounting tricks that the wealthy rely on to avoid paying their fair share.”
Carney’s investments included shares in more than 600 worldwide companies. Barrett and now most MPs want answers as to whether or not this creates a conflict of interest.
The motion now means a list of high-profile witnesses will be called to testify November 21 regarding Carney’s alleged financial conflicts of interest. Witnesses include Carney’s chief of staff, Marc-André Blanchard, as well as Brookfield executives Bruce Flatt and Connor Teskey.
Carney was in Singapore when the motion was called forth.
Before Carney became PM earlier this year, he worked as an executive for Brookfield Asset Management, where he, as reported by LifeSiteNews, championed the idea of “net zero” climate goals to spur a financial “revolution.”
Shortly after becoming PM, he admitted he would “probably” have to recuse himself on certain governmental matters because of potential conflicts of interest.
Before becoming prime minister, Carney worked for Brookfield Asset Management and the United Nations special envoy on climate action.
Recent reports claim that Carney held $6.8 million in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. stock options before quitting the company.
