Finance minister shifts responsibility to ethics watchdog

Morneau wasn’t told he had to use a blind trust, but says he would do so if advised to

OTTAWA— Finance Minister Bill Morneau has asked to meet with the federal ethics watchdog who admitted Tuesday she told him he was “not required” to put his company shares in a blind trust to avoid conflicts.

Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson first refused to discuss any of her advice to Morneau on how the wealthy businessman could comply with the law and whether a blind trust was necessary. Under further questioning by reporters following a committee appearance, however, she said “I told him that it wasn’t required.”

She later told the Star that nevertheless, a blind trust is an option that is always open to any minister.

Dawson told reporters Tuesday the law requires blind trusts only “for controlled assets” or “things that are directly held. Sometimes the asset is not directly held.”

On CTV’s Power Play, Dawson said “it all turns on the term ‘hold.’ ”

“All of the assets that people are worried about are held by a corporation not by Mr. Morneau.”

She said a corporation is legally a separate person and “if anybody does not directly hold assets” they are not required to divest.

Faced with a Commons furor over how the most powerful minister in the Trudeau government has arranged his personal affairs, Morneau now says he’d be willing to re-jig if Dawson determines that additional measures, such as a blind trust, would be an proper course of action.

“I would be pleased and eager to move forward on any revised recommendations you might provide,” Morneau said.

While Morneau has refused to say if he still owns shares in the company, his letter indicates he has assets that could be placed in a blind trust at Dawson’s instruction.

Cathren Ronberg, a Morneau Shepell spokesperson, told the Star in an email Tuesday that the company has “no knowledge” of whether the finance minister still owns shares.

Morneau, who is married to Nancy McCain and a beneficiary in the McCain empire, released his letter to Dawson that implicitly shifts the responsibility to her for his efforts to comply with the law.

“Over the last two years my family and I have placed our trust in you, and we have the utmost confidence in the recommendations you put forward. I have taken great care to follow them diligently. However, as you know, these recommendations have recently been the subject of increased public scrutiny, and I am writing to seek further guidance.”

In Montreal Tuesday, Morneau was asked if the escalating ethics controversy had him reconsidering his career in politics. “Absolutely not.” The New Democrats say Morneau is in breach of the law for failing to set up a blind trust while clearly writing budgets and working on pension reform legislation, specifically sponsoring Bill C-27, a proposed law that would allow a new type of pension plan in federally regulated jurisdictions that the finance minister’s former company, human resources and technology firm Morneau Shepell, designs and implements.