When Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, seized control of the state, he liked to boast that he came to power because all of Italy “swore allegiance to me of its own free will.”
Now, the enthronement of Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney as the first emperor of Canada seems all but assured, as ministers, media and minions enthusiastically fawn over him.
But why are ministers rushing to Carney, a man without parliamentary position or security clearance, to appraise him of the nature of possible tariffs against the U.S. and to seek his advice?
As an unelected person, parliamentary conflict of interest and ethical guidelines do not apply to Carney. But if he’s acting in a political role — and he appears to be saying he is — then they should. Ordinary citizens — plebs, as they were known in Augustus’ time — should be told of the financial affairs of the man who would be emperor if he is providing direction to ministers on government policy.
Meanwhile, our national broadcaster is so besotted by Carney’s words that when he held a press conference on Wednesday, it afforded him 36 minutes of uninterrupted airtime, the kind of treatment the CBC usually reserves for the prime minister.
The Liberal leadership race doesn’t end until March 9, but so desperate are the Liberal ranks to see the back of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, they have seized on Carney as the saviour of the party, and the country.
Indeed, another leadership hopeful, Karina Gould, has accused the Liberal hierarchy of crafting the rules to favour certain people. “I don’t think a coronation is good for the party,” Gould told the CBC. Who could she be referring to?
“The party has put forward an extremely aggressive fundraising deadline,” Gould said at a press conference on Thursday. “They have tried to make it as hard as possible for only a few candidates to participate in this race.”
The rules require candidates to pay a $350,000 entrance fee payable over four instalments. The third payment, of $125,000, was due on Friday. The last payment, also of $125,000, is due Feb. 17.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Carney praised a number of ministers for their work and then revealed they were also seeking his advice.
He named Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, saying, “They keep me informed.”
Carney was talking about tariffs and how Canada might respond to the United States. It was then that he disclosed that he was giving the ministers advice on how to proceed.
“I provide some prospective on that (tariffs), and particularly with respect to where we go from here, the next phase of potential discussions,” he said.
Carney is not even an MP, he has never been in government, the public have never elected him to any public office. And yet, he is helping set government policy by directing ministers on national affairs.
This is rightly a matter that should be raised in Parliament, but unfortunately, Trudeau thought it a good idea to sideline democracy during a national crisis.
The Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF), an organization that focuses on issues relating to public interest and strengthening democracy, asked Liberal leadership candidates to disclose their assets, sources of income and liabilities (which they would need to do if they were MPs).
Carney refused. Two other candidates, Ruby Dhalla and Frank Baylis, did not respond to the IJF. Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister, and Gould have disclosed their assets in accordance with conflict of interest rules.
Carney’s campaign told the IJF that he would only disclose his financial information if he’s elected as an MP.
But if Carney is already providing advice, assistance and direction to ministers on government policy, then clearly the rules are not good enough. Carney may be a saint, but there are good reasons why we have ethical guidelines — even saints get tempted.
Carney needs to agree to disclose his assets, in line with MPs and ministers, or he needs to stop advising the government. To have a highly connected and heavily invested businessman telling ministers what to do while keeping his financial affairs secret makes a mockery of the rules.
Last month, Carney announced he had quit as chair of Brookfield Asset Management, a company with $1 trillion in assets, to run for the leadership, but that is hardly full disclosure.
Carney has run afoul of this issue before.
When he was appointed to head Trudeau’s task force on economic growth last September, it was arranged so that he would report to the party, instead of a government entity like the Prime Minister’s Office or the Privy Council Office. The Conservatives charged that the arrangement allowed him to sidestep conflict of interest rules.
Parliament may be prorogued, but Canada is still a democracy and our elected officials are held to a high standard. When an unelected businessman is actively involved in government affairs, he should be held to the same standard.
Of course, emperors always feel the rules don’t apply to them.
National Post