Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau faces a new round of criticism for failing to disclose the existence of a villa he owns in southern France to Canada's ethics watchdog.
The Finance Minister, already under fire over proposed tax changes his government has put forward, only disclosed his ownership of the villa in France – and a private company that he owns to manage the foreign property – to Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson's office after CBC News discovered its existence in September of this year.
In a prepared statement, Minister Morneau's office said the failure to disclose the company is the result of “administrative confusion.” However, opposition politicians say they are troubled by the minister's failure to fully disclose all of the private companies he owns.
“I guess that he expects us to believe that he's so rich that he just forgot that he has a private corporation in France and a wonderful villa in Provence,” said Conservative Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre. “It's a little hard to believe.”
CBC News discovered that Minister Morneau is listed as a partner in the company “SCI Mas des Morneau,” which owns and manages a villa in the picturesque town of Oppède in France's Provence region. The Finance Minister’s wife, Nancy McCain, a member of the wealthy family that owns McCain Foods, is named as a partner in the company.
According to the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce d'Avignon's registry, the company was incorporated on August 17, 2007. Among the company's activities listed in the registry are real estate, rentals and leases. Tax experts say there can be some advantages to holding real estate in France through a company such Mas des Morneau, including avoiding inheritance tax.
Before entering politics, Minister Morneau was executive chair of Canada’s largest human resources firm, Morneau Shepell, and a former chair of the C. D. Howe Institute. While he has owned the company in France for a decade and was named the federal Minister of Finance only two years ago, the company in France was only added to his ethics filings on September 22nd of this year — as CBC News was pressing his office repeatedly for information about the company and why it did not appear in his public ethics declaration.
Commissioner Dawson's office says Members of Parliament are supposed to disclose any private companies they own anywhere in the world. Any private companies that are disclosed to the ethics commissioner's office are listed in the public registry of ethics filings maintained by her office. A spokesperson for the Ethics Commissioner’s Office said a public office holder can be fined if it is believed they have contravened the law. Under the Conflict of Interest Act, fines can range up to $500.The spokesperson said there is currently no examination or inquiry of Minister Morneau underway.
Since 2009, the ethics watchdog has fined four cabinet ministers $100 each for not disclosing changes to their assets within 30 days as required. One cabinet minister, Conservative Peter MacKay, was fined $200 twice for failing to provide a description of his assets while Liberal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was fined $200 in 2016 for failing to declare a gift he received within the deadline.
