Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has full confidence in Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Press Secretary Alex Wellstead said in a statement to Sputnik
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2020) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has full confidence in Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Press Secretary Alex Wellstead said in a statement to Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, a report from Canadian outlet, The Globe and Mail, said that Morneau could be ousted from his current role in the near future over differences in how to manage the economy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"Of course the Prime Minister has full confidence in Minister Morneau and any statement to the contrary is false. The Prime Minister knows that Minister Morneau and the entire team of cabinet ministers will keep doing the work that Canadians rely on to get them through this pandemic," the statement on Tuesday said.
In its report, the Globe said that candidates to fill the would-be vacant position include Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos.
According to the Globe, the list of viable candidates also included Mark Carney, the former head of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. On Monday, reports said that Carney, 55, has been tapped as an informal advisor to the Prime Minister. The Office of the Prime Minister has not yet confirmed Carney's appointment.
Morneau has faced mounting criticism after he revealed to the Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) that he previously reimbursed the WE Charity for travel and accommodation fees in the amount of $69,650 for trips he and his family took to participate in the charity's projects in Kenya and Ecuador in 2017. Critics have particularly zeroed in on a $30,830 previously uncovered tab, that was closed on the day of the testimony.
Trudeau and Morneau, have incurred 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.
WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger said at a separate FINA hearing that the trips Morneau and his family took were intended to be "complimentary."
A separate Globe report said the Prime Minister's Office was caught off guard by the Morneau's admission concerning the WE Charity expenses.
Canada's official opposition Conservative Party has also blasted the finance minister for the growing federal deficit that is set to soar to a record-high $254.19 billion in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Canada's disconcerting fiscal picture has not only been met with criticism at home but with consequences on the global stage. Last month, Fitch Ratings stripped Canada of its AAA debt rating citing a "deterioration of public finances."
Morneau is now the subject of an expanded conflict of interest probe by the Canada's Ethics Commissioner into his relationship with the embattled charity. The ethics probe is the third for Morneau during his five years in office.
