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Finance Minister Bill Morneau wasn’t in a conflict of interest when he introduced a pension bill in the House of Commons while he still owned shares in his family’s pension services company, according to the ethics commissioner.
“Because Bill C-27 is of general application, Mr. Morneau’s interests, those of his relatives, and those of Morneau Shepell Inc. in this matter are excluded from the application of the Act,” Mario Dion wrote in his decision released Monday morning.
“I found that he did not place himself in a conflict of interest in making decisions leading to the introduction of Bill C-27, therefore he did not contravene … the Conflict of Interest Act.”
Former ethics commissioner Mary Dawson began investigating Morneau’s role in the introduction of Bill C-27, but retired before completing the inquiry.
Dawson initiated the examination at the request of Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre and NDP MP Nathan Cullen.
Cullen argued that, because Morneau held about one million shares in Morneau Shepell, his family’s company, when he sponsored the bill, he could make millions if it passed.
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