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Finance minister followed the law, has done nothing wrong: Trudeau
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is standing by his embattled finance minister as he faces opposition accusations of gross conflict of interest for failing to place his personal assets in a blind trust after being appointed to cabinet almost two years ago.
It was a heated question period Wednesday as Trudeau returned to the House of Commons for the first time since a furor erupted over news that Bill Morneau still owns an estimated $40 million in shares in Morneau Shepell, the pension management and human resources firm founded by his father.
Morneau holds the shares through two private companies – one in Calgary and one in Ontario – in which he is the sole owner.
Trudeau put his own personal investments into a blind trust in 2013 after becoming Liberal leader, proclaiming that he’d set “the gold standard” for ethical conduct. The day he was appointed to cabinet in 2015, Morneau told reporters he expected to do the same with his holdings.