OTTAWA — Finance Minister Bill Morneau says he plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of his shares in the family business.
Morneau tells the House of Commons he will donate the difference in the value of his Morneau Shepell shares between the date they were sold and the date he was elected in 2015.
Morneau made the announcement as he continued to face Opposition questions about how he handled his personal finances after becoming minister.
He says he informed the federal ethics watchdog of the decision in a meeting with her this morning.
Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson said little as she left their meeting and walked to her office across the street from the finance building.
But Morneau told the Commons he gave Dawson assurances that he will sell all of his shares in Morneau Shepell — worth at least $21 million — and put his other assets in a blind trust.
Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre responded by asking Morneau to put the funds towards paying down the government's multibillion-dollar deficit.
