Ottawa, ON – Michael Barrett, Conservative Shadow Minister for Ethics and Accountable Government, wrote a letter to Carbon Tax Carney, calling on him to be honest with Canadians about his many conflicts of interest and other ethical disclosures before potentially being appointed Prime Minister.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
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Dear Mr. Carney,
I am writing regarding your failure to commit to submitting your ethics disclosure before potentially taking office as Prime Minister or before a potential election this spring.
We already know that, so far, Justin Trudeau has managed to protect you from ethics disclosure by appointing you to a Board consisting only of you, which provided him with advice on economic growth. This procedure differs from what most advisors to the Prime Minister would face, precisely because the standard process would require you to disclose your conflicts of interest.
During that time, you also advocated for heat pumps, a product tied to Brookfield Asset Management, which owns a heat pump company that stood to benefit massively from any government support. While serving in that role, you were also Chair of Brookfield Asset Management, at a time when Brookfield was actively lobbying the Liberal government for $10 billion in taxpayer funds.
Additionally, your various global positions included roles on the board of Stripe, the Global Advisory Board of PIMCO, and the Chairmanship of Bloomberg. Yet, you have failed to disclose how any of those roles may have influenced the advice you gave the government.
In a recent interview with Rosemary Barton, you refused to answer whether you would provide an ethics disclosure before an election, simply stating that you would “comply with all the ethics guidelines, conflicts of interest guidelines, blind trust…”
Let’s be clear about why those guidelines are insufficient for someone in your particular position:
The Public Office Holder Conflict of Interest Act does not require you to submit an ethics disclosure until 60 days after you are first appointed to a government role. In your case, this would mean 60 days after you potentially assumed the role of Prime Minister. You would have up to 120 days to sign your public declaration. This means you could be Prime Minister for up to four months before Canadians see your ethics disclosure—more than enough time for you to make decisions that benefit your rich and well-connected friends, and even after holding an election.
Canadians expect transparency and deserve better.
Today, I am calling on you to commit to fully revealing any conflicts of interest and other ethical disclosures before potentially being appointed Prime Minister and definitely before an election is called should you win the Liberal leadership race. Canadians have a right to know about any potential conflicts a future Prime Minister could have before they take office.
You must disclose all forms of compensation you received while advising Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada, and any compensation you have received or will receive as a result of your departure from your various positions.
You must show transparency on this matter. A potential Prime Minister of Canada must not hide his ethical disclosures from Canadians.