OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada’s finance minister Bill Morneau announced his resignation Monday, on the heels of an ethics scandal and amid a reported split with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over pandemic spending.
Morneau, who has held the post since 2015, told a news conference that he met with Trudeau to inform him that he would not run in the next election, and that a new finance minister with a long-term outlook was needed.
“As we move to the next phase of our fight against the pandemic and pave the road towards economic recovery, we must recognize that this process will take many years, it’s the right time for a new finance minister to deliver on that plan for the long and challenging road ahead,” Morneau said.
“That’s why I’ll be stepping down as finance minister, and as member of Parliament,” he said.
Morneau said he was hoping to land a job as secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
For the past week, Canadian media have reported on a purported rift emerging between Morneau and Trudeau on how to reboot the Canadian economy weakened by the new coronavirus pandemic, as the government budget deficit soared to more than Can$340 billion.
Canada’s ethics commissioner also launched an investigation into the minister’s ties to a charity tapped by Ottawa to distribute pandemic aid to young people.
Ttudeau is also being probed over his family ties to the WE charity, which paid his wife, brother and mother for speaking engagements.
© Agence France-Presse
