Morneau says he's sold all shares in family's pension company, made donation to charity

Finance Minister Bill Morneausays he has sold all his shares in his family's pension company and made "a large donation" to charity, as the ethics watchdog continues to examine an alleged conflict of interest surrounding his ownership ofthe shares.

Morneau, the target of the opposition's attack during question period again Monday,had previously promised to placehis assets in a blind trust and unload about a million shares, worth about $20 million, inMorneauShepellto calm a growing ethics controversy over his personal holdings.

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"I will continue to work to assurethat Canadians can retire in dignity.I will continue to work with the ethics commissioner to make sure her examination is competed.Now that I've sold all my MorneauShepellshares and made a large donation to charity, I'm looking forward to continuing these efforts on behalf of Canadians," he told the House of Commons on Monday.

The finance minister had promised to donateto charitythe profits earned on his Morneau Shepell shares since becoming finance minister. According to his office he directed the donation to the Toronto Foundation which will then spread the money to a number of different charities.

It's not yet known how much profit was made from the sale. The nature of the sale, to whom the shares were sold and the total value of the sale also remain unknown.

"Minister Morneau undertook to sell the shares on his own initiative and our office was not involved in the sale," said Marie Danielle Vachon, a spokeswoman for Ethics Commissioner Dawson.

For weeks Morneau has been dogged by controversy 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.Morneau agreed to pay a $200 fine for failing to declare the company that owns the villato Parliament's Conflict of Interest and Ethics Officer Mary Dawsonwhen he took office.

Returning after the parliamentary break week,Morneauon Monday faced the opposition benches for the first timesince news broke that Dawson was conducting an examination to see if he violatedthe Conflictof Interest Act.

Dawson initiated the examination after Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre, and NDPMP Nathan Cullenwrote to the commissioner earlier this fall, asking her to look into the finance minister's role in Bill C-27, a pensions bill, that Morneau sponsored while still controlling shares in his family's pension company.

Cullen argued that, because Morneau held about one million shares at the time, he stood to make millions if the bill passed.

Poilievrehad asked Dawson to investigate whetherMorneauviolated both the Conflict of Interest Act (which applies to cabinet ministers)and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (which applies to allMPs), but Dawson said she would examine his role in the bill under the Act alone.

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