Madam Speaker, some people say it is because we need to encourage competent people to enter politics, as though competence has something to do with wealth or the fact that a person owns shares and interests in a number of companies.
My question about the Prime Minister's conflict of interest screen is whether his chief of staff asked him to be careful when, at the G7 meeting, he took steps to exempt American companies from the 15% minimum tax. When he was not Prime Minister, he decided to move assets that were governed by this rule out of Canada. I am referring to Brookfield headquarters, in the United States. Was he unaware of what he was doing at the G7 regarding that exemption? Was the conflict of interest screen applied?
The answer is no. He was not advised to recuse himself because the conflict of interest definition is limited to so-called personal interests, and it was a decision of general interest. This allows him to grow his wealth, but also, and most importantly, Brookfield's wealth.