TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) Bill Morneau, Canada's former Finance Minister who resigned in the wake of the WE Charity scandal, announced in a statement that he is withdrawing from the race to become the next Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
"I have decided to withdraw from the race to become the next Secretary-General of the OECD, as I do not have support from enough members to continue to the third round of the campaign," Morneau said on Tuesday.
Morneau said he was proud to have raised issues important to Canadians - the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the fight against climate change - before an international audience and extended his best wishes to the rest of the candidates left.
When Morneau announced his resignation in the middle of August, he said that his decision was motivated by an earlier decision not to run in the next election and that the country needed a Finance Minister that would oversee the long-term economic recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic-induced downturn. He said at the time that his focus was the OECD's Secretary-General position.
Morneau's OSCE bid was backed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau and Morneau were the subject of intense backlash after multiple investigative pieces revealed close ties between their families and the WE Charity, which was awarded a $670-million sole-source contract to administer a government-sponsored student volunteer program. Morneau had faced additional criticism following his admission that he accepted expense paid trips from the WE Charity.
Trudeau and Morneau were both the subjects of a conflict of interest probe by the Canada's Ethics Commissioner into their relationship with the embattled charity, although Morneau's probe was dropped in October. The ethics probe was is the third for both officials during their five years in office.
The search for a new Secretary-General to replace the outgoing Angel Gurria is expect to conclude by the beginning of March. The candidate chosen by the OECD Council will begin their five-year term on June 1.
Australia's former finance minister, Mathias Cormann, is the perceived front-runner in the race, in a field that has shrunk to five candidates.
