Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing mounting criticism from Democracy Watch, which is demanding he sell his investments in Brookfield and more than 500 other companies, calling his current ethics arrangements unethical and ineffective.The advocacy group says Carney’s so-called “blind trust” is not blind, since he knows what assets are in it, chose his own trustee, and is permitted to give instructions such as “don’t sell anything.” The trustee is also allowed to give him regular updates, and Carney retains stock options in Brookfield Corporation and Brookfield Asset Management that he cannot sell for years.Democracy Watch also slammed Carney’s ethics screen — which applies to just 103 of the 500+ companies — as a “loophole-filled smokescreen” that allows him to participate in almost all government decisions that affect his investments, without any public disclosure.“Prime Minister Carney has as many financial conflicts of interest as Trump,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch. “His blind trust isn’t blind, and his ethics screen hides his participation in decisions that directly affect the companies he profits from.”The group pointed to a longstanding loophole in the Conflict of Interest Act, which allows politicians to take part in decisions that broadly affect an industry or sector — even if they hold a personal financial stake in companies impacted by those decisions. Since most cabinet decisions fall under this category, Carney is permitted to be involved in decisions that could benefit his own portfolio.They also criticized the practice of ethics screens, introduced under former ethics commissioner Mary Dawson, which they say allow politicians to avoid public declarations of recusal required by law, even when clear conflicts exist.Democracy Watch cited the 1987 Parker Commission, which recommended banning blind trusts and requiring senior officials to sell their investments outright, as the only way to truly eliminate conflicts.Carney and other ministers, the group argued, should rely on government bonds or other fixed-income products not tied to any particular company while in office.The organization is also calling for sweeping reforms to federal ethics, lobbying, transparency, election finance, and whistleblower protection laws, and a new process for appointing watchdogs free of political interference.
