On Saturday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying that Mr. Carney will be on a reduced schedule for the week, and in Italy for “personal commitments” through to Aug. 17.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney is on a vacation in Italy for a week with arrangements his office says have been cleared by the federal Ethics Commissioner.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying that Mr. Carney will be on a reduced schedule for the week, and in Italy for “personal commitments” through to Aug. 17.
Mr. Carney’s office said it’s not unusual for it to run such trips past the Ethics Commissioner similar to a “personal commitments” trip in Europe in March, after a visit with then-British prime minister Keir Starmer.
The PMO said Mr. Carney will remain in close contact with his team and officials on priorities including the Canada-U.S. trade negotiations.
Trade talks between the countries have intensified ahead of a threatened new round of 50-per-cent U.S. tariffs on a range of Canadian goods set to be enacted on Aug. 19.
After the B.C. government declared a state of emergency because of wildfires in the province, the PMO said Mr. Carney was following the situation.
“The Prime Minister is working closely with his team to respond to the evolving wildfire situation in British Columbia and across the country, and receives daily operational updates on this work,” said a statement issued Sunday by Audrey Champoux, deputy director of communications in Mr. Carney’s office.
“The Prime Minister’s Office and members of his cabinet continue to support the province to dispatch a fully co-ordinated effort to ensure the safety of Canadians.”
While Mr. Carney is in Europe, the PMO said advisories would be issued to the media, as usual, should public events arise.
Asked about the trip on Sunday, Ms. Champoux said, “The Prime Minister follows all applicable ethics rules, including with respect to personal travel. In certain cases, this involves consultation with the Office of the Ethics Commissioner, whose guidance we always follow.”
The office of Konrad von Finckenstein, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, did not respond to queries Sunday about their assessment of the trip.