Bill Morneau Fined $300 For Violating Federal Elections Act
OTTAWA — Former finance minister Bill Morneau has been fined $300 for violating federal election laws, according to the commissioner of Canada Elections.
The commissioner wrote in a statement Thursday that Morneau ran afoul of the rules while attending a series of events last summer in his capacity as finance minister, including two in the Ontario ridings of Oakville and Dufferin–Caledon in the pre-election period.
Morneau joined two prospective Liberal candidates at the events, including Anita Anand, who would later be named minister of public services and procurement in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet after winning in Oakville in October.
Federal ministers are prohibited under the Canada Elections Act from using public resources and department funding for partisan purposes.
Watch: Bill Morneau resigns as finance minister and MP. Story continues below video.
“Mr. Morneau singled out Ms. Anand, highlighting her ‘significant accomplishments […] as a scholar, as a legal professor, as well as someone who’s been in the private sector, working at [a] law firm’ and opined that ‘when such a person steps forward for public life — with significant accomplishments in their private sector life — I think it’s important that we...support them and encourage them,’” reads a copy of the watchdog’s findings posted online Thursday.
Morneau later posted about the July 29, 2019 visit on his Facebook account. The post included a picture of Anand and himself, which, according to the commissioner, provided a “partisan benefit” to the Liberal Party of Canada.
Less than a month later, Morneau repeated the transgression with a visit to the riding of Dufferin–Caledon to meet with local families and business leaders. Prospective Liberal candidate Michele Fisher also attended the event.
He later posted about the visit, sharing a picture of his meeting with Fisher on his public social media accounts. The riding was later won by Conservatives.
