OTTAWA – The Conservatives have asked Canada’s lobbying commissioner to investigate whether it violates ethics rules for the prime minister to make Mark Carney his own personal adviser.
The Liberals announced at their recent caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., that Carney, the former Bank of Canada governor, had been appointed chair of a task force on economic growth and adviser to the Liberal leader.
They said Carney will help shape the party’s policies for the next election, and will report to Justin Trudeau and the Liberal platform committee.
Tory ethics critic Michael Barrett says in a letter to the commissioner of lobbying that Carney is not registered to lobby federally, but his corporate positions put him in several potential conflicts of interest.
Carney is the chair of Brookfield Asset Management, which is in talks with the government to launch a $50-billion investment fund with support from Ottawa and Canadian pensions.
When asked about Carney’s potential conflict of interest in the House, the finance minister has repeatedly accused the Conservatives of mudslinging and says the Liberals are fortunate to have the advice of world renowned experts.
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