Mark Carney speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York on Sept. 24.Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
The Conservatives have sent a letter to Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger asking her to review whether Mark Carney’s new role as a policy adviser to the Liberal Party – while serving as chair of Brookfield Asset Management – violates any lobbying rules.
At a caucus retreat last month, the Liberals announced that Mr. Carney would be taking on a role as chair of the Leader’s Task Force on Economic Growth, a panel that would provide policy advice to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his capacity as leader of the Liberal Party and to the Liberal platform committee.
The party said at the time that the role involves developing new ideas for near- and long-term economic growth and productivity.
The letter from Conservative MP and ethics critic Michael Barrett asks Ms. Bélanger to “examine the activities of Mark Carney to see if there is a breach of his obligations under the Lobbying Act,” such as being required to register.
“I am also requesting you to examine the extent to which Brookfield Asset Management and all of their subsidiaries were aware of, or complicit in, any potential breach of conduct on the part of Mr. Carney, who is their Board Chair. This is important because of the size and breadth of Brookfield’s operations, which extend across multiple federally regulated fields.”
A spokesperson for Brookfield did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Carney said in a statement that his role is with the Liberal Party, not the government itself, and he is serving as a volunteer.
“I have long balanced public and private duties with integrity and in compliance with all applicable rules in my various roles, and am confident I will do so in my role as Chair of the Leader’s Task Force on Economic Growth as well,” he said.
Manon Dion, a spokesperson for the Lobbying Commissioner, confirmed in an e-mail that Mr. Barrett’s letter has been received.
The e-mail said the commissioner can self-initiate a preliminary assessment to ensure compliance with the Lobbying Act or the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct.
“She is following her usual process to determine the appropriate next steps,” Ms. Dion said.
The Lobbying Act includes a provision in which an individual working for a company must register as an in-house lobbyist if one or more employees communicate with public office holders and that work crosses a threshold of taking up at least 20 per cent of their duties.
The threshold has long been a matter of debate because it means the lobbyist registry does not in fact capture all federal lobbying that takes place.
Mr. Barrett announced his letter at a news conference on Parliament Hill with two other Conservative MPs. He was asked if he has any evidence that Mr. Carney’s activities warrant registering as a lobbyist.
“This is exactly the kind of question that, of course, the government’s had the opportunity to provide an answer to. Up to this point, they have failed to be transparent, and so this is why it’s going to be reviewed by the independent Officer of Parliament,” he said.
Mr. Barrett wrote a letter to the Prime Minister last month shortly after Mr. Carney’s new role was announced. That letter asked Mr. Trudeau to appoint Mr. Carney through the traditional route as a ministerial adviser to ensure he is subject to conflict-of-interest screens and ethics rules.
Mr. Carney is the former governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada. He currently serves as chair of both private media and finance company Bloomberg LP and Brookfield Asset Management, which controls about $1-trillion in assets globally. He is also a finance adviser to the British Prime Minister.
Should Mr. Trudeau decide to step down and not lead the Liberal Party into the next election, Mr. Carney is frequently mentioned among a list of people who may seek the party leadership.
Mr. Carney was recently featured in a fundraising letter to Liberal donors.
“I am ready to help our country grow and tackle challenges head-on – with solutions, not slogans, and with action, not indifference,” he wrote.
With a report from James Bradshaw in Toronto