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Is there any ethical screen for Carney to avoid conflicts of interest or other lobbying concerns?
Jun 25, 2025
Given that, and given the fact that the Prime Minister worked for one of the largest constructions and manufacturers of national projects of infrastructure in Canada and perhaps in the world in Brookfield. Could you please identify to us the screens that we put in place to make sure that we don't have conflicts of interest or other lobbying concerns? -- This video has automatic dubbed versions. Go to Setting / Audio track and select your preferred language among the following: - English - Dutch - French - German - Hindi - Indonesian - Italian - Japanese - Korean - Polish - Portuguese - Spanish Thanks for watching!
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thank you chair and thank you the
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ministers for agreeing to be here for
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the next six hours we appreciate that no
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uh a little fun to begin with here guys
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you can smile here um so
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so no
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so so conservatives agree directionally
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that of course we need n national
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projects built we need the elimination
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of interprovincial trade barriers uh in
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fact over the last 10 years the old
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liberal government was very much against
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that we felt uh we are glad that the new
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government uh appears at least open and
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directionally but we do have some
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concerns particularly on the ethics
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accountability and transparency side uh
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and I'll start by referencing sections
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21 22 and 23 of the building Canada act
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there when these sections are combined
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together what they have the ability to
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do is give a minister the ability to
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exam exempt any national project from
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any piece of legislation passed since
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1867 with the exception of the Charter
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of Rights and Freedoms given that and
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given the fact that the prime minister
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worked for one of the largest uh
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constructions and manufacturers of of
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national projects of infrastructure uh
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in Canada and perhaps in the world in
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Brookfield could you please identify to
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us the screens that we put in place to
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prevent to make sure that we don't have
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conflicts of interest or other lobbying
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concerns
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um well Mr chair perhaps I could uh and
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thank you for the question Mr lawrence
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it's a good question um and you're right
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when you identified the operation of
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those particular sections um in no
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discussions that I was in uh or that I
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participated in was exempting
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uh requirements under the conflict of
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interest and ethics act for example
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would be a piece of legislation that
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obviously you're referring to as the
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minister who would be designated as
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responsible for this act i can't imagine
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that in the course of my recommendation
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to cabinet
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that would be the kind of exemption um
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that we're looking at um but I'm I'm
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obviously would in any circumstance be
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governed by the advice that we would get
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from officials from the privy council
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office and the ethics commissioner in
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those circumstances i I get the
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hypothetical question you're asking and
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I I've seen you and your colleagues
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raise these concerns in different fora
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elsewhere i just think it feels very
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hypothetical that we would be approving
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a national project and look to exempt
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responsibilities of any member of
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parliament or or public office holder
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member of cabinet from uh the ethics
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obligations i I wouldn't ever do that
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myself i wouldn't go to cabinet with
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that kind of recommendation but I I take
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your point thank Thank you Minister well
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I would follow the old Ronald Reagan
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quote of the I trust but verify uh and
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it is it is striking that this the the
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uh the way that 21 22 and 23 work
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together in the building candidate is
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literally any legislation can be exempt
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uh including the conflict of interest
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act the lobbying act uh the income tax
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act the criminal code um and while I
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certainly want to trust I would also
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like to verify so my question would be
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would you be open with the to an
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amendment that would restrict that to
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prevent uh to prevent exemption from the
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conflict of interest act and other acts
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again uh Mr lawrence thank you for the
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question and the deputy clerk uh just to
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in because it as I say it is a good
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question and I wouldn't want to leave an
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impression that is inaccurate um and
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perhaps Chris Fox could add something if
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in my explanation it's not as precise as
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it should be there are limits in terms
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of um what acts or what exemptions
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um could be issued in part one it talks
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about acts of parliament fisheries act
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Indian act international river
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improvements act national capital act
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navigable waters protection act
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migratory birds convention act it it
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doesn't speak of some of the ethics
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obligations the criminal code it speaks
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but and again because your question is a
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good one i don't Yeah again I it's I
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I've hypothetical question we're going
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to approve or designate a a project and
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exempted from the criminal code of
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Canada doesn't feel like thank I I just
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don't want doesn't seem like a
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legitimate line of questioning no and
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and I I I appreciate that but the act
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says in 21 you can add other acts to it
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uh which means you could in theory add
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the criminal code i'm not saying you
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would minister uh I'm saying that the
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possibility there to exists uh and we
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have seen we have seen in the old
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Liberal government um that we've seen
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some ethical lapses and so so uh I know
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shocking um and so we would uh we would
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be looking for an amendment to make sure
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and specifically like I said the prime
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minister of course worked for one of the
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largest infrastructure or ran one of the
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largest infrastructure companies in the
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world uh and so putting those screens in
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place I think are incredibly important
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would you have any details on how the
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minister how the prime minister screens
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might be put in place to make sure we
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don't have conflicts of interest
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so
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I the the prime minister has answered
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the questions uh and the ethics
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commissioner's office is able to talk
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about all the screens that are
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appropriately in place to ensure that
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there is in fact no conflict of interest
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or appearance thereof um I'm not sure
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that any of us are going to speak to
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those specific ethics provisions but
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perhaps Sarah in Sarah can you add
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something
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yes just on the controls that are in
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place with relation to 2122
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so yes on the recommendation of the
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designated minister the GIC could add
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acts and regulations that's um needs to
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be done with respect to the purpose of
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the act which is to advance national
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interest projects provide environmental
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protection respect indigenous rights so
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it needs to be in keeping with the
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purpose of the act first of all um and
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then the regulations under section 22
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would need to actually be on the
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recommendation of the minister
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responsible for each of those acts so
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the minister of fisheries and oceans if
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modifications were being made to the
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application of um the fisheries act so
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that's another control that's in place
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thank you they're also subject to
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statutory instruments act regulatory
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process thank you very much Miss Jackson
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and and thank you Mr lawrence five
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minutes please thanks chair appreciate
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it thank you ministers for being here
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and just to follow up to conclude on
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what my colleague uh Phil Lawrence was
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asking um so just is it safe to say that
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neither of the three ministers here
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responsible for the bill um and no
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accusation towards you in general but
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neither of you are aware of or have seen
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or know about a concrete ethical screen
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in place for the prime minister
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okay I'll just take that as a no so
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let's So these things are properly done
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by the ethics commissioner and the
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deputy clerk responsible for the bill
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miss Fox did you want to respond to that
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i just wanted to state quite clearly
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that at the Privy Council Office we are
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working very closely with the Prime
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Minister's Office to manage all of the
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conflicts that he's declared and that is
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operationalized within the
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communications between the Privy Council
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Office and the Prime Minister's Office
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and that would uh be with anything
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including this bill thank you so you may
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be aware but that it is clear then that
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the ministers responsible aren't but so
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Canadians will trust you on
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