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Now the new business arrangement Morneau presented to Canadians seems like a good one. Not that he came up with it himself. It is, after all, what Section 27 of the Conflict of Interest Act lays out — that cabinet ministers and other prominent persons on the Hill either sell their shares or go into a blind trust. It’s what he should have done from the beginning.

Morneau even gave media and his company the impression, back in 2015, that this is exactly what he was going to do from the beginning. But along the way it seems that he, or one of his representatives, paused and looked around to see if there was any possible way he could keep the shares on hand. How else did he come up with the idea to do what he eventually did: take the shares out of his name and into a corporation that he controlled?

That meant he held the shares “indirectly”, which ethics commissioner Mary Dawson apparently confirmed to him did not violate the Act. However she made clear that she did not specifically counsel that he take this course of action. Far from it, as Dawson had told the government back in 2013 that this was a loophole that should be closed (and never was). So while it didn’t violate the letter of the law, it darn well violated the spirit of the law.

It seems Morneau’s priority wasn’t following Section 27. It was finding some creative way to keep his shares while not breaking that section.

Some observers thought Morneau was going to resign Thursday. Far from it. He said he had “naively” thought consulting with the ethics commissioner was enough. He talked about how the public and press were “getting distracted about my personal situation,” as if people’s genuine concerns were a trifle and a waste of his time.

It was disappointing to see this tone from a minister who had previously behaved in a manner above reproach.

One almost wants to join the pile-on calling for Morneau’s resignation, were it not for the fact that there’s no obvious alternative in the Liberal caucus with sufficient experience to take his place. Canadians are now stuck with the devil they know.

afurey@postmedia.com