A coalition of Conservatives have called for an investigation into whether Mark Carney is benefitting financially from his position in the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau government.
Aside from his role as special advisor on the Liberal Party's task force on economic growth, Carney serves as chair of Brookfield Asset Management, a multinational investment firm.
"Mark Carney is the ultimate Trudeau insider," the coalition, led by MP Rick Perkins, wrote in a letter to Standing Committee on Industry and Technology Chair Joel Lightbound. "For nearly half a year, he's formally been Chairing the Trudeau Government Task Force on Economic Growth. However, informally, he has been serving as the Liberal Government's phantom finance minister for far longer than that, with even mainstream media reports showing his influence over Trudeau's economic agenda dates back over several years."
The group noted that, "at the same time, the corporations that Mr. Carney has senior roles in have been actively pursuing the same federal Liberal government he's been advising for policies, rules and handouts that would make their shareholders richer."
They cited the fact that Brookfield has been "lobbying the Liberals for $10 billion from taxpayers for a new investment fund," noting that another company Carney directs "has been allowed to ignore Ottawa's plan to reduce interchange fees for small businesses without any consequences."
"The question now becomes how much Mr. Carney himself is profiting off of this influence," the Conservatives continued. "Executive compensation for a board chair of a company the size of Brookfield can include salary, performance bonuses, stock options, lucrative expense accounts and more. Given their tax dollars are on the hook, the public has a right to know if Mr. Carney's compensation increases as the federal Liberals implement his policy ideas."
They argued that revealing exactly what is included in Carney's compensation package is "essential given his involvement with the Trudeau Government and the potential of payouts directly linked to government decisions that benefit Brookfield."
"Canadians deserve to know how much cash this Trudeau insider is making off these costly conflicts of interest," the coalition added. "Canadians should be able to know how much Mr. Carney has personally profited off of these disastrous decisions, and the Liberals should be held to account for allowing any potential conflicts of interest to happen at all."
They concluded by calling on the industry committee to convene and "launch a full review of Mark Carney's direction to the Trudeau Government, Brookfield's investment decisions, and their respective impacts on Mark Carney's compensation package from Brookfield."
The letter was signed by MPs Rick Perkins, Michelle Rempel Garner, Jeremy Patzer, and Bernard Généreux.
