Critics say Carney’s bid shows need for stricter disclosure rules

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OTTAWA – Opposition parties are urging stricter financial disclosure rules to warn freelance leader candidate Mark Carney to become prime minister before revealing his assets or potential conflicts of interest.

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The former central bank spent years in global finance and served as chairman of Brookfield Asset Management until last month, but was never elected to the federal office. Conservatives and NDP leaders believe that the current rules are not designed for this situation, leaving a transparent gap in Carney’s bid for positions as freelance leaders and prime ministers.

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“To restore trust and accountability, the bill must be reformed to require all leader candidates to publicly disclose their business holdings, directors and financial interests at the start of the campaign,” said Matthew Green, an ethics critic of NDP.

Green called on Carney to exceed the bill’s requirements.

“Show Canadians where your money is,” said Green, a MP at the Hamilton Center.

Under the Conflict of Interest Act, elected officials must transfer all financial holdings to a blind trust to ensure they have no control over the funds. They also have to publicly disclose certain assets within 120 days of their inauguration.

However, the law does not require the public disclosure of stocks, bonds and foreign currency holdings, but reports them privately to the Conflict of Interest Commissioner within 60 days of taking office.

Since Carney never ran for election and won a seat in federal lawmakers, he did not follow these rules.

When asked why he didn’t proactively share details about his financial interests, Carney said: “I’m in the leadership movement.”

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“I will follow all conflict of interest rules and ethics rules. I will be happy to follow all of this, and it’s an easy process. If I’m elected as the leader of the Liberal Party, that will start once it’s over,” Carney told reporters after the February 25 Liberal Leaders debate.

Michael Barrett, a MP for conservative ethics critic, said Canadian voters were facing “an unprecedented situation”.

“It is obvious that we should consider whether the party’s leadership competitors should be subject to the same moral disclosure as the current MP,” he said in a statement.

“This becomes especially important when the current Council is holding a leadership competition when the winner becomes prime minister immediately.”

Both sides pointed out that Carney’s relationship with Brookfield deserves a closer scrutiny.

Carney’s spokesman Liam Roche responded to Green and Barrett’s speech. Carney has always adhered to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism under various roles in the public and private sectors and under his leadership in the Canadian Liberal Party.

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Roche continued: “He is committed to adhering to all applicable moral rules and norms to ensure that his previous experiences do not create any real or perceived conflict.”

The National Post’s preliminary review of some of Carney’s speech activities, cross-references with board members, gives insight into the activities he will be asked for privately and will report to the Ethics Commissioner if he wins the leadership competition.

Carney said he resigned from “all positions” on January 15 because he said, “he was all in Canada.” He put Brookfield, Blookfield and his position as UN envoy in climate action and finance.

Under the Conflict of Interest Act, if he wins a leadership competition, he will be required to disclose all his professional, charitable, charitable, political and non-commercial activities in the past two years, whether they continue or not.

His board membership list may include multinational corporations such as Stripe Inc., a financial services firm; positions on the Harvard Oversight Board and the International Advisory Committee of the Bravatnik Government at Oxford (he studied economics at both universities); the Rideau Hall Foundation, supporting the Governor General of Canada; and Chatham House, a British Foreign Affairs Think Tank.

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He will be asked to privately disclose any revenue he made to groups around the world, from China and Brazil in at least 14 speeches in 2024. Canada has given more than half of its donations, some through Zoom, and some in organizations dedicated to sustainable finance, which he has on or has been on the board.

Carney also delivered six speeches, and he did not charge a speech fee.

When asked how much Carney’s speech fee was, his spokesman, Roche, did not respond directly.

“As a globally recognized economist and sustainable development leader, Mark has previously made unpaid or paid comments on economic thinking and various issues raised from his experience,” he wrote.

Asked about potential conflicts related to board membership and speaking activities, University of Ottawa law professor Jennifer Quaid specializes in corporate accountability and competition and explained that the professors did not get Carney or any political candidates into a conflict of interest. This regulation applies only when electing candidates.

“You just don’t want it [an elected official] She said.

State Post
psonntag@postmedia.com

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