Article content continued

Michelle Rempel, a former cabinet minister and popular conservative MP from Calgary, posted a live video of her reaction to the Sun report and her concerns about Morneau’s judgement.

“I just find it really strange and odd that somebody like Bill Morneau, who was going into the position of finance minister, wouldn’t have thought about the optics (and) the practical effects of not putting his shares into a blind trust,” said Rempel on Periscope.

“It just seems crazy to me,” she continued, “and really disappointing, especially given the changes that he is purporting to put in place regarding small business taxes.”

Morneau has been in hot water ever since it was revealed that he chose not to set up a blind trust to manage his assets in Morneau Shepell.

Instead, his assets were placed into a numbered company to comply with the guidelines of the Ethics Commissioner.

The Ethics Commissioner has called this a loophole.

In the midst of calls for his resignation, Morneau addressed the issue on Thursday and announced his plans to finally divest all shares in Morneau Shepell.

Then came the Sun report that Bank of Canada has a relationship with Morneau Shepell, managing the pension and benefit plans for its employees.

A Bank of Canada spokesperson confirmed that the contract was renewed on February 27, 2017, under Morneau’s watch and while he was still a beneficiary of the company.

Canadians also learned that Morneau has been earning at least $65,000 per month from the firm he regulates.

“I can’t recall a federal minister with more obvious conflicts,” said former cabinet minister Jason Kenney on Twitter. “Time for him to resign.”