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Conservatives urge Mark Carney to disclose ethics before end of Liberal leadership race


The Conservatives are calling on Liberal Party leadership candidate Mark Carney to preemptively submit his ethics disclosure before the conclusion of the leadership race.

Conservative MP and ethics critic Michael Barrett told reporters in Ottawa on Feb. 18 that it’s concerning that if elected Liberal leader, the former Bank of Canada governor could potentially trigger an election without having committed to completing the customary accountability practices, as he is not an elected MP nor a public office holder, and is therefore not subject to any federal ethics rules.

In a letter he wrote to Carney, Barrett called on Carney to disclose his assets and potential conflicts of interest before the leadership contest ends on March 9.

The Conflict of Interest Act states that within 60 days of taking office, an individual must report to the ethics commissioner their direct and contingent liabilities, all their sources of income and charitable work done over the last year, and “any other information that the Commissioner considers necessary” to ensure they are in compliance with the act.

Carney would also be required to make a public declaration of his assets within 120 days of taking office.

Carney joined the Liberal team as an adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on economic growth back in September. Soon after, the Conservatives asked Canada’s lobbying commissioner to investigate whether it violated ethics rules for the prime minister to make Carney his own personal adviser, as his several corporate positions put him in potential conflicts of interest.

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