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Hamilton Spectator
15-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Mark Carney will be ‘conflicted at every turn' unless he sells financial assets, Pierre Poilievre claims
OTTAWA—Days after details of the prime minister's sweeping conflict of interest screen were made public, the federal Conservatives say Mark Carney should sell all of his assets due to a host of potential issues they argue will impede his ability to do his job. 'This will put (Carney) in an impossible position where he will be conflicted at every turn,' Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters Monday afternoon. 'Either he will have to get up three or four times every cabinet meeting to avoid stumbling over the 100-plus potential conflicts that the ethics commissioner has identified, or he will act in cabinet to potentially favour his own interests. Neither of those possibilities is acceptable.' The disclosure, issued Friday by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, outlines details of the former central banker's investments and the conflict of interest screen he agreed to implement to avoid receiving preferential treatment as a public office holder due to his prior business dealings. The screen is being administered by Carney's chief of staff, Marc-Andre Blanchard, and Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Sabia, 'to ensure that I am neither made aware of nor participate in any official matters or decision-making processes involving the Companies' interests,' Carney's declaration states. 'I may, however, participate in a discussion or decision on a matter that is of general application or that affects the Companies' interests as a member of a broad class of persons unless those interests are disproportionate to the other members of the class.' The filing shows that Carney has agreed to recuse himself from matters tied to more than 100 entities, including investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, its parent company Brookfield Corporation, and payment processing company Stripe. Carney resigned as board chair of Brookfield Asset Management in January when he entered the federal political scene, and also stepped down from other positions, including another board role at Stripe. Following his ascension to the top of the Liberal party, Carney also set up two conflict of interest screens for both companies, and put his assets, aside from 'cash and personal real estate,' into a blind trust, something the prime minister has argued he did well ahead of the deadline that must be met within 120 days of taking office. Last week's disclosure details the myriad investments Carney placed in the blind trust. It also shows that Carney divided the 103 entities captured by his ethics screen into three categories: 25 entities for which he previously held a management or oversight role, four 'Brookfield portfolio companies' that appear in the federal lobbyist registry, and 74 entities included 'out of an abundance of caution' because they were identified as being linked to Brookfield, even though Carney 'had no role in managing them, and no direct financial interest in them.' Errol Mendes, a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Ottawa and a former senior adviser to the Privy Council Office, said that Carney's third 'catch-all category' shows that the prime minister is prepared to come under close scrutiny. Mendes also said that while he understands opposition concerns about Carney's assets because they are 'one of the most extensive holdings that a prime minister has had,' he doesn't back Poilievre's call for Carney to sell off all his investments and hand the cash over to a trustee. 'I don't think, to my knowledge, that anyone would fully have expected every single prime minister in this situation to completely sell off everything he or she has,' Mendes said. Robert Shepherd, a professor of public policy and administration at Carleton University, said it's not entirely realistic to go Poilievre's proposed route. 'Sure, if you want to be purer than the driven snow, then yes, technically, you shouldn't own anything, right?' Shepherd said. He also said he doesn't put much stock in Poilievre's argument that Carney's corporate history would render the prime minister nearly useless in cabinet meetings. 'The opposite complaint would be that he didn't declare any conflicts of interests or recuse himself. So you can't have it both ways. You either want the law to bring out conflict of interest — potentially or actual — or you don't. So which way would Mr. Poilievre like that argument to go?' Shepherd said. On Monday, government watchdog group Democracy Watch released a statement also demanding that Carney sell his investments, citing the step as the 'only effective way to end the serious, unethical and damaging financial conflicts of interest caused by his investments in more than 500 companies.' The group also called the prime minister's ethics shield a 'loophole-filled, unethical smokescreen.' The Prime Minister's Office said Carney has been working closely with the ethics commissioner to not only comply with all of his obligations, but to also 'exceed them.' 'All of his investments were placed in the blind trust and all investment decisions are taken independently from him. Furthermore, the vast majority of the securities divested had been held in an investment account managed by a third party, over which the prime minister neither controlled nor directed the selection of the specific investments,' read a statement from spokesperson Emily Williams. 'The prime minister also proactively put in place a voluntary screen to proactively avoid any potential conflicts of interest, with the guidance of the ethics commissioner. In all of his work for Canadians, the prime minister will continue to serve with the highest standards for integrity at all times.'
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As NYC Rape Retrial Looms, Harvey Weinstein Sues Brother & TWC Execs Over $45M Loan From 2016
Harvey Weinstein is set to go to trial again in New York City for rape in April, however in the meantime, the incarcerated former producer is lashing out legally at his brother Bob Weinstein and former COO David Glasser over an old $45 million loan that was supposed to save The Weinstein Company in 2016. Seeking a self-described 'claw back of any improperly appropriated or ill gained assets and/or monetary sums taken by Third-Party Defendants' and other damages, Weinstein's filing is 'an action for fraud arising from the Defendants' inducement of Weinstein to sign as a personal guarantor for a $45 million business loan from AI International Holdings (BVI) Limited to TWC Borrower 2016, LLC, which the Defendants then pilfered and misappropriated for their own uses and benefits, in blatant violation of the loan's intended purpose, wrongfully leaving Weinstein solely liable for repayment when AI International, as the lender, sought to enforce the guarantee.' More from Deadline Harvey Weinstein Insists He'll Die At Rikers If NYC Rape Trial Isn't Moved Up Harvey Weinstein Has Bone Marrow Cancer Kevin Costner Returns To Fox Nation With 'Yellowstone To Yosemite' Limited Series Which is a fancy way of saying Harvey Weinstein believes Bob Weinstein, now Studio 101 boss Glasser, accountant Irwin Reiter and almost a dozen John Doe and Jane Doe defendants screwed him and left him holding the bag while they made off with millions. 'This mismanagement left the Companies unable to satisfy their financial obligations, resulting in insolvency and placing Weinstein at substantial personal financial risk as the guarantor of the Loan,' the February 13 jury trial filing in New York state court declares. The 22-page document contains alleged examples of Glasser paying out $1 million to his father plus $5 million in bonuses and Bob Weinstein snagging $6 million from TWC accounts for his own use. At the center of the extensive sex crimes revelations that brought Weinstein down in 2017, Reiter receives specific bile in the filing as he is accused of deliberately failing 'to take action to prevent or report the self-dealing and misappropriations that contributed to Companies' insolvency.' 'It was shocking to discover the fraudulent transactions that went on to get me out of the company,' the much accused Weinstein said in a statement Monday to Deadline. 'I believe that a number of these executives played a big part in my demise.' Or, as the complaint states: The Companies' cash deficit and inability to satisfy the Loan triggered settlement negotiations with AI International, which Robert and Glasser conducted with fraudulent and disloyal intentions. Third-Party Defendants reached a self-serving agreement with AI International to settle the debt for a significantly discounted payment of approximately $15 million. Under this settlement, Third-Party Defendants secured a release from liability for the Loan while intentionally leaving Weinstein exposed to the full balance of the Loan— approximately $30 million plus interest—to compensate for the reduced payment. Third-Party Defendants, acting individually and in concert, knowingly and fraudulently induced Weinstein to personally guarantee the Loan by misrepresenting the intended use of the funds as being for legitimate purposes related to the Companies. Bob Weinstein's attorney Brian Kohn said in a statement on February 14 that 'Harvey's allegations are entirely without merit.' Yellowstone executive producer David Glasser did not respond to request for comment on the latest filing in the sordid Weinstein saga. However, if some of this sounds familiar, it is. Wrapped up in the messy Lantern Capital $299 million purchase of the remains of TWC, almost all of this was extinguished in 2018. A state of affairs that mean most of it will likely be challenged within weeks in court by lawyers for Bob Weinstein, Glasser and others. Sitting in a cell in Rikers Island watching movies and shows on his phone (I'm told), the often ailing 72-year-old Weinstein is scheduled to start his retrial on April 15 on his 23-year sentence from his 2020 rape conviction, which was tossed out in 2024, and one count of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, which was added to the indictment last September. Even though a 4-3 panel of New York appeals court judges dismissed the 2020 conviction last April on the grounds prosecutors had erred by allowing the testimony of other Weinstein accusers whose claims were not being tried, the producer remains behind bars because of his 2022 conviction in Los Angeles on sex crimes and sentencing to 16 years, which is now also under appeal. On the West Coast, Weinstein saw a sudden change of fortune earlier this month when a Jane Doe whose 2013 rape claims against the producer contributed to his L.A. criminal conviction dropped her civil case. Just weeks before the matter was to go to trial on March 24, Doe's lawyers asked L.A. Superior Court Judge Elaine W. Mandel on February 4 to dismiss the sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress case without prejudice. Though that means the matter isn't totally dead and could be refiled, Weinstein's L.A. legal team took the stance that this was over and done. 'JD#1's legal team dropped her civil case to avoid exposing exculpatory evidence crucial to Harvey's appeal and possible retrial,' they said in a statement to Deadline. 'This move was a calculated effort to shield damaging truths that we all know wouldn't help solidify her narrative.' Where this all goes next, on either coast and with Weinstein's ongoing $5 million suit against New York over 'deplorable' conditions at Rikers, is anyone's guess. Best of Deadline How To Watch Sunday's 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' Online & On TV Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
