Poilievre attacks Carney again over ethics, Singh promises help for northern Ontarians

As the election campaign enters its fourth week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is continuing to attack Liberal Leader Mark Carney over ethics while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is promising more help for northern Ontarians.

At a news conference in Ottawa on Sunday morning, Poilievre accused Carney of shady behaviour and claimed the Liberal leader "refuses to tell Canadians what investments he continues to own or even where he pays his taxes."

Carney is the former board chair of Brookfield Asset Management, which is one of Canada's largest publicly traded companies. According to Brookfield's latest financial filings, Carney held stock options worth $6.8 million at the end of December.

The Liberal leader has repeatedly said that aside from cash and real estate, all his assets are in a blind trust, which he has no control over. Carney has not said what exactly those investments included.

In a press release sent out Sunday, the Conservatives promised to strengthen the Federal Accountability Act to "ban politicians from making decisions that benefit themselves or their families disproportionately."

WATCH | CBC News answers audience question about Carney's blind trust:

With a blind trust established, does Carney have a say when divesting assets?

17 days ago

Duration 5:19

Liberal Leader Mark Carney has faced repeated questions about whether his assets, now in a blind trust, could put him in a conflict of interest as prime minister, where he may be in a position to make decisions that could benefit his holdings. CBC’s Election Fact Check unit answers an audience question about whether Carney has any say in which of his assets can be divested from, along with other questions sent to [email protected].

The Conservatives would also require party leaders to disclose their assets within 30 days of becoming leader and require prime ministers to divest their assets within 30 days of assuming office.

"You would actually have to sell all the assets, turn it into cash, hand that cash over to a trustee and then invest it from scratch, unbeknownst to you," Poilievre said Sunday.

Under the current government ethics rules meant to guard against conflicts of interest, Carney had 60 days to disclose his assets to the ethics commissioner upon being sworn in as prime minister and another 60 days before that information went public.

When a blind trust agreement is implemented, it is noted in the public registry and all controlled assets placed in the trust will be listed, said Melanie Rushworth, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, in an email to CBC News at the end of March.

A campaign spokesperson told CBC News on Sunday afternoon that "Carney pays income taxes in Canada and has always followed all the rules as a taxpaying resident of Canada."

The spokesperson also said Carney's British and Irish citizenships were renounced before he was sworn in as prime minister.

Singh calls for focus on Indigenous issues

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh unveiled his party's platform for northern Ontario, which includes training more doctors from northern and rural communities, improving access to mental health and addictions treatments and reforming the Nutrition North food program.

"Nutrition North was supposed to provide access to affordable, nutritious meals and food. It's not doing that. We're going to fix it to make sure it actually delivers that goal," Singh said in Timmins, Ont.

WATCH | Singh says Indigenous issues haven't been a major focus this campaign: 

Singh agrees Indigenous issues have not been a major campaign focus

2 days ago

Duration 1:11

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, speaking from Timmins, Ont., on Day 22 of the election campaign, is asked about a lack of focus on Indigenous issues in this election campaign and why he has not challenged the other party leaders on this point.

In a press release, the NDP said it would send the Nutrition North subsidy "directly to northerners, not to corporate chains like the North West Company."

Singh was also asked by reporters about concerns that Indigenous issues have not been a focus on the campaign trail. The NDP leader said "those critics are right" and criticized other major party leaders for not prioritizing Indigenous communities.

"I challenge the other parties to make Indigenous issues a fundamental and important issue in this campaign…. We can't move forward as a country unless the first people of this land have access to water, to dignified homes, to health care," Singh said.

The NDP is also promising to work with Indigenous Peoples to fully implement all 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and "fully implement" Jordan's Principle, the legal requirement that First Nations children get equal access to government services.

Another quiet day for Carney

The Liberal leader skipped the campaign trail once again on Sunday — a move that drew criticism from Poilievre.

"Mark Carney is hiding again today in the middle of the election campaign he called so that you can forget the lost Liberal decade that drove the cost of housing and food up and drove your wages and living standards down," Poilievre said.

WATCH | Bloc leader says Quebec needs to play larger role in trade discussions: 

‘We have to face Donald Trump,’ says Blanchet

2 days ago

Duration 1:01

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet is asked about the challenge that U.S. President Donald Trump has presented during the election campaign.

On Saturday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet accused the Liberal leader of trying to capitalize on his early momentum by coasting through the opening three weeks of the campaign.

"I believe that Mr. Carney is trying to get a free ride," he said at an announcement in Trois-Rivières, Que., alleging the Liberals are trying to "hide him as much as possible."

In his capacity as prime minister, Carney spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Saturday morning and later pledged Canada "will boost our defence spending, support our allies and keep Canada strong."

Carney paused his campaign for the third time on Thursday and returned to Ottawa to tend to his prime ministerial duties in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. He convened a meeting on Friday with his Canada-U.S. cabinet council.

After the meeting, Carney left without taking questions from reporters.

Five federal party leaders will face off in French- and English-language debates on April 16 and 17 at the Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal. 

CBC will broadcast the debates live with simultaneous interpretation on CBC News Network and livestreamed on the CBC News app, CBC's YouTube channel, CBC Gem and on CBCnews.ca.