It is hard to offer an opinion on that because we do not exactly know what information was shared. I believe the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner might be able to answer that question. However, in my view, there is no question that we must always be transparent and disclose any potential, apparent or actual conflict of interest. It must be disclosed. It will be important to find out what information was shared.
On August 12th, 2020. See this statement in context.