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OTTAWA — Following days of accusations that he was putting himself in a conflict of interest, Finance Minister Bill Morneau has announced he will set up a blind trust and sell off his ownership stake in his family’s pension services company.

He also denies he was ever in a conflict, despite having personally introduced legislation last year that proposes changes to pension regulations.

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The finance minister pointed out that a conflict-of-interest screen has been established in his office that requires him to be recused from discussions that directly affect Morneau Shepell, except by way of “general application.”

He could recall at least two times when he had been pulled out of a meeting because of the screen, but could not clarify what exactly those meetings had been about. “I don’t know what the issues were discussed in those meetings, because I was taken out,” he said.

Morneau described the controversy over his finances as a distraction from the work the government is trying to do, and said it was time to go “above and beyond” what Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson had previously told him was required.