Ethics commissioner clears Morneau on sale of shares in 2015

In one of her final moves as Canada's ethics and conflict of interest commissioner, Mary Dawson found that Bill Morneauand afamily member didn't benefit from insider information when they sold shares in his family's pension company,MorneauShepell, in the fall of 2015.

In a letter dated Jan. 5 and addressed to Morneau, Dawson said the income tax increase for Canadians earning more than $200,000 was publicly announced on Nov. 4 and Morneau sold his shares on Nov. 30. The legislation was tabled on Dec. 7.

"The act prohibits the use of insider information obtained in his or her position by a public office holder and that is not available to the public, which, in light of the above [reasons] was not the case in this instance," she said.

Dawson investigated thesale at NDPMP Nathan Cullen's request. Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievrealso wrote to her office. Poilievre had argued the timing of the sharesale was no coincidence as the share price later took a dip, and he has sought to tiethedepreciation to the tax hike.

The finance minister had also come under fire after news reports revealed the Bank of Canada had an $8 million contract withMorneauShepellto manage pensions and benefits.

But Dawson also dismissed any notion that Morneau, who is the minister responsible for the Bank of Canada, influenced the bank's decision to renew the contract.

"I am satisfied that, as minister of finance, you had no involvement in the Bank of Canada's decision of the renewal of the MorneauShepellInc. contract," Dawson said in the letter.

'Terrible judgement'

"We have received the letter from the Ethics Commissioner and we are pleased with the outcome," said a spokesperson for Morneau.

"The minister has gone above and beyond the initial recommendations from the ethics commissioner by divesting all his family's holdings in his former company, donating upwards of $10 million to charity and setting up a blind trust."

Poilievreresponded to the decision Monday saying, regardless of Dawson's decision, ministers shouldn't sell shares the way Morneaudid.

"Conservatives believe it is unwise for ministers to buy or sell shares in the weeks immediately before the introduction of tax measures. Finance Ministers should lead by example. It is not good enough for ministers to boast that their actions are not illegal," he said in an email to CBCNews.

Poilievrealso noted that Morneau"remains under investigation for introducing a pension bill that could have impacted his pension company."

Pension bill investigation still pending

Dawson's officehasn't released the results of that investigation regardingMorneau'srole in introducing BillC-27while he still owned shares in his family's company.

Cullen and Poilievrealso both wrote to Dawsonasking her to look into whether Morneaubenefited financially when Bill C-27 was introduced.

Monday Dawson told CBCNews that the examination into that issue "remains active."

Cullen has argued that, becauseMorneauheld about one million shares at the time, he could make millions if the bill passed.

Power Panel: Morneau catches a break from the ethics commissioner

7 years ago

Duration 9:02

Kelly Cryderman, Susan Smith, Robin MacLachlan and Rachel Curran discuss Mary Dawson finding that Bill Morneau and a family member didnt benefit from insider information when they sold shares in his family's pension company, Morneau Shepell, in the fall of 2015.

Dawson's latest ruling comes after months of controversy for Morneau over his ownership of the company's shares and his use of private corporations to hold his assets including one he failed to declare until September, which holds a villa in France.

Morneaupaid a $200 fine for failing to declare thatcompany when he was elected.

Dawson's last day as ethics commissioner is Monday. Mario Dion has been tapped to replace her.