QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Appointment of Financial Adviser
October 1, 2024
Senator Gold, it has been weeks since Justin Trudeau named Brookfield Asset Management Chair Mark Carney as head of the new special Leader’s Task Force on Economic Growth in Canada. Yet, lo and behold, there are no members on this magical task force. There are no events scheduled, despite Mr. Carney saying he will be meeting with various groups to inform them of his work and report. There is no actual deadline for any such report.
What is really going on here, Senator Gold? Try to explain that. Why was this task force even necessary? You have one of the largest cabinets in Canadian history. The size of the civil service under the leadership of Justin Trudeau is bursting at the seams. You have hired billions of dollars’ worth of independent consultants, yet you need to add another level of bureaucracy. Why, Senator Gold?
How is this not an admission that your government just isn’t up for the job of fixing the mess that Justin Trudeau has created over the last nine years?
Well, to complain in one sentence that no members of a task force have been hired and then to complain about bureaucracy is just another example of rhetoric over fact.
The Government of Canada and all Canadians, I think — I hope — understand that the value of the experience, integrity and breadth of expertise that Mark Carney has and will bring to the service of Canadians is something that should be applauded. This government is pleased to have Mark Carney by its side as it confronts the problems that face us all.
The only one pleased is Brookfield Asset Management, Senator Gold. What measures of accountability are in place for Mr. Carney in his role? He doesn’t even have — I repeat — a reporting deadline, and he is being paid by the Liberal Party of Canada, not by the government, in order to avoid ethics guidelines and conflict laws that we have in this country.
Senator Gold, Mark Carney is just another independent Liberal appointee who has absolutely no accountability. Why is it that the Trudeau government has a hard time with transparency and accountability? You hire somebody — give them deadlines and give them —
The government is pleased that Mr. Carney has agreed to advise it and to serve this country with his understanding of economics — which will be very helpful, frankly, in public policy — and his clear commitment to fighting climate change and his understanding that they both can go together.
