Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian prime ministers should be required to divest their investment portfolios when they assume office, not just put them in a blind trust, the House of Commons ethics committee recommends in a new report.
In its report made public Thursday morning, the committee said putting assets in a blind trust isn’t good enough, recommending instead “that the Government of Canada amend the Conflict of Interest Act that, for the application of subsection 27(1) the prime minister, as a reporting public office holder, is fully divested from their controlled assets through sale, since placement in a blind trust does not constitute true divestment.”
The committee also wants the law amended to require public disclosure of “high-level holdings categories placed in a blind trust by reporting public office holders (sector/asset class, and whether the holdings are Canadian-market concentrated),” a recommendation that could shed new light on the financial interests of a number of top officials and cabinet ministers.
Can we go higher on the salary, sure. Let’s make it $1milion a year.
But, who do we want running the country? I’d like someone with the guts to raise the salary, but also say that they’ll willingly dis-invest and put their assets in a blind trust.
Carney’s assets are in a blind trust. He has zero visibility into what investments he holds. All he knows is the overall performance of the total.
They get a raise every year on April 1st. Ugh. Taxpayers are fools every April Fools Day. They also get huge expense accounts and properties they can use like Harrington Lake cottage. They get free travel all over the world. They don’t need a huge raise, they don’t do that much or work that hard.