Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre speaks during a campaign rally March 31, 2022 in Ottawa. Dave Chan/The Globe and MailDave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will change conflict-of-interest law so it applies to leadership candidates if his party forms government in the next election, The Globe and Mail has learned.
He’s framing the move as closing the “Carney loophole,” a reference to the criticism of Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney’s decision not to disclose his financial holdings and potential conflicts until he’s required to under the law.
Mr. Poilievre would also change the law to force future prime ministers and their cabinets to sell off any assets that could create a conflict of interest.
Mr. Poilievre is set to make the promises at an event in Toronto on Friday morning. The Globe obtained an advance copy of the press release.
Pierre Poilievre’s disdain for big business is creating an uneasy relationship with corporate Canada
The existing Conflict of Interest Act applies to public office holders, which includes the prime minister and cabinet ministers, as well as ministerial staffers and government appointees, among others. MPs are covered by a conflict-of-interest code.
Neither the act nor the code apply at present for Mr. Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, who does not hold a seat in the House of Commons. It also does not apply for leadership candidate Frank Baylis, who is also not an MP.
Two other leadership candidates, Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould, are MPs, so are already covered by the code.
Whoever wins Sunday’s Liberal leadership vote will become prime minister, and then the act will apply.
Currently, it requires a disclosure of financial holdings to the federal ethics commissioner within 60 days and a public declaration of those assets within 120 days.
Certain assets must also be sold or placed in a blind trust – meaning a third-party will control and make decisions about them; the act prohibits public office holders from holding assets that could be affected by government policy, such as stocks or bonds.
Mr. Carney’s campaign said Thursday that he’ll place his assets in a blind trust.
The Conservatives have been highly critical of Mr. Carney’s approach, saying his refusal to proactively disclose means it could be months before Canadians have a full picture of any conflicts of interest that he might have.
Mr. Poilievre’s changes would require leadership candidates to disclose their holdings to the Ethics Commissioner within 30 days of becoming an official candidate and make them publicly available within 60 days.
Mr. Poilievre would also remove the option of using a blind trust.
Mr. Carney’s corporate connections have come under scrutiny throughout the leadership race. In addition to being the former BoC governor and Bank of England governor, he has sat on numerous high-profile boards.
But he has declined to fully disclose his financial situation, saying for now he is a private citizen and has no legal obligation to do so.
On the day he launched his leadership bid, Mr. Carney also announced that he was stepping back from all his corporate board positions, including chair of Brookfield Asset Management, a major investment company.
While he was chair of the board, the company technically relocated its headquarters to New York City for better access to U.S. stock indices.
When asked about the move, Mr. Carney initially claimed that it was made after he left the board, but corporate records proved it had happened while he was still in charge.
In the news release for Friday’s event, Mr. Poilievre references the Brookfield issue.
“How could Carney negotiate with Trump if he sneakily still has shares in a U.S.-headquartered company?” Mr. Poilievre says.
He adds: “Canadians deserve to know whether their Prime Minister is working against their best interests for their own profit.”