Lisa Raitt

[Ethics, October 31st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, while he was executive chairman of Morneau Shepell, the current Minister of Finance advocated for policies he later implemented when he became the minister.

Only when he got caught did these policies that benefited his shares come to light; only when he got caught did he meet with the Ethics Commissioner; and only when he got caught did he agree to sell his shares because of the conflict.

If the minister will not disclose the contents of his other mysteriously numbered companies, maybe he could tell us what is in 1446977 Ontario Inc., so that we will know he is not in conflict yet again?

[Ethics, October 25th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the Prime Minister throughout this entire question period, and after hearing his answer for the seventh or eighth time, the ignorance of the Prime Minister to the Conflict of Interest Act, and how it works was actually embarrassing to me.

Here is the point, Mr. Speaker. The Ethics Commissioner works with the public office holder to set up a conflict, but it is who minister's office members that administer the conflict of interest screen.

Will he stop hiding behind the skirt of the Ethics Commissioner, and tell us what is in these numbered companies?

[Ethics, October 25th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, for two years the finance minister led Canadians to believe he had put his assets, the Morneau Shepell shares, in a blind trust, and only when we found out that was not the case, did he admit to it and make changes. This just begs the question of what else he is hiding in those numbered companies and trust funds that we do not know about that could put him in a potential conflict. He will say, “Well, trust me. I have a system set up that is going to work to make sure that I am not in a conflict of interest”.

However, Canadians do not believe him. I want to know from the Prime Minister, what is the finance minister hiding in these other numbered companies?

[Ethics, October 24th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, did the ethics screen enable the minister to have discussions on a company that he controlled, that he received $65,000 a month from, that he himself lobbied for in the past?

The minister would say to us, “Oh, you're so concerned about my personal finances.” Actually, we are not. We are caring far much more about exactly what ethical screen he had in place, and if he did the right thing.

This is not about Bay Street; this is about Main Street. Canadians want to know this. Did the minister recuse himself when we had these discussions on Bill C-27?

[Ethics, October 24th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, these are the facts as we know them.

As executive chair of Morneau Shepell, the minister lobbied on behalf of targeted pension plans. When he became the minister, he brought legislation in to make these law. He also collected dividends from the company because he still had shares.

Now the hon. member mentioned an ethics screen, and that may very well be in place. However, I want to know something specific. Given all of these conflicts around this issue, did the minister recuse himself from any of the discussions around Bill C-27?

[Ethics, October 18th, 2017]

The Prime Minister, in the House, is now shrugging off responsibility. It is a personal matter; it is not his to look after. It absolutely is, and shame on the Prime Minister for not having the decency of ensuring that his finance minister is following the law.

[Ethics, October 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the Prime Minister one thing. Where I come from in Milton, Ontario, it is not petty to want to make sure that our Minister of Finance is absolutely—

[Ethics, October 18th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask the Prime Minister to focus clearly on what the question is, because we are not getting the answer.

When the finance minister was first elected, he clearly said that he was going to put his vast fortune into a blind trust. We learned two years later that in 2015 he had a choice between selling the shares and putting them in a blind trust and, lo and behold, he did neither.

I want to know one specific thing. When did the Prime Minister learn that the Minister of Finance did not dispose of his shares in accordance with the Ethics Commissioner?

[Ethics, October 17th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister seems to have one set of rules for himself and a completely other set for everybody else. He made the choice to attack hard-working Canadian entrepreneurs while protecting his own personal wealth. He is the one who is hiding an offshore account, and he will not tell Canadians why he did not put his vast personal wealth into a blind trust, like the law requires.

Let me be clear. This was his choice, always his choice, and these are his ethics we are talking about. I just want to know, when did the finance minister sell his shares in Morneau Shepell?

[Ethics, October 17th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, they may trust the Ethics Commissioner, but how can Canadians trust these Liberals? As of late yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary for Urban Affairs was still falsely claiming that the finance minister's assets were in a blind trust. The Prime Minister himself indicated that it was the Ethics Commissioner's responsibility in these matters, yet she testified today that it was the minister's choice not to put the shares in a blind trust.

The daily revelations of the finance minister show nothing but hypocrisy, and I want to know one simple thing. When did the finance minister sell his shares in Morneau Shepell?