Morneau selling family shares
Minister unloads his holdings following relentless pressure from opposition critics
OTTAWA— Finance Minister Bill Morneau is in the process this week of selling all his and his family’s shares in Morneau Shepell, the company his father founded and together, over 25 years, they expanded.
And his office says Morneau intends to donate not just any profits on the value of his shares since taking office, but also the dividends realized this week on those shares.
“The shares are being sold in an orderly manner, and the process is being done appropriately and expeditiously. Should the family receive the cash dividend, the amount will be included in the funds donated to charity,” said his spokesperson, Dan Lauzon.
Morneau Shepell declined to discuss the sale of Morneau’s interest in the company, referring all calls to him. Cathren Ronberg, a company spokesperson, had previously told the Star that Morneau “has had no involvement with Morneau Shepell since October 26, 2015, when he resigned from the company. At that time, he owned 2,254,109 shares, according to public filings required of a company officer.”
Lauzon confirmed that Morneau sold the first million shares after he was elected in October 2015.
“The process began around the time he was elected, but it is one that takes time,” Lauzon said Tuesday.
“A sizable donation was made to charity then, as it is now. Bringing the total charitable donations to north of $10 million.”
In the early series of share sales in December 2015, Morneau donated the proceeds to the Toronto Foundation, a registered charity whose website says it pools philanthropic dollars and facilitates charitable donations for maximum community impact. It administers more than $400 million in assets.
Lauzon could not confirm whether the charitable donation Morneau is now planning will be to the same group.
However, Morneau has twice spoken about his and his wife’s efforts to bring women from a refugee camp in Kenya to study at university in Canada. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Morneau’s decision to fully divest himself of the holdings came only after relentless pressure and questions about his stake in the family firm.
“And he still doesn’t seem to think he did anything wrong,” Scheer told reporters.
After days of being on the defensive, Morneau shifted tactics in the Commons on Tuesday and went on the offensive against opposition MPs who continue to challenge his integrity.
He tried to turn tables on the Conservatives, demanding they reveal what assets they hold in numbered companies, rhyming off different ones held by Conservative MPs.
“The question for me, though, is for the 21 members on the other side of the House who have private corpora- tions, and whether they have, in fact, taken the same approach. For example, whether the member for Chatham-Kent—Leamington has disclosed what is in 782615 Ontario Inc., or what is in 2412420 Ontario Inc. . . .” Morneau said, before he was cut off by the Speaker.
But a quick response by Conservative Pierre Poilievre, his party’s finance critic, took some of the steam out of Morneau’s offensive.
“The minister wants to know what is in my company. I am one of the 21 he just listed. It is a rental property. How hard was that?” Poilievre said.
He then taunted Morneau, saying he’s asked all the Conservative MPs “in the caucus to whom he referred. They have all confirmed that none of them owns stocks in a company that he or she regulates. Only the finance minister has that distinction. Can he just tell us, what is he holding in 2254165 Ontario Inc.?”
The Star surveyed 29 other cabinet ministers this week to ask whether they too held any assets indirectly, the same arrangement that put the finance minister in the crosshairs of opposition criticism.
The offices of four ministers — Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Veterans Affairs Seamus O’Regan — replied to the questions to say that none of them held any publicly traded assets indirectly.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould clarified her status.
A further 14 cabinet ministers replied to the Star with a carbon copy statement — indicating a co-ordinated response across government — that said only that they were following the recommendations of the ethics commissioner about their financial holdings. Many refused to respond to followup questions.
Finally, 10 additional ministers refused to reply at all to the Star’s queries, even though several of them, such as Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott, have no declared assets or investments, according to filings with the ethics commissioner.
“He still doesn’t seem to think he did anything wrong.” ANDREW SCHEER CONSERVATIVE LEADER