The NDP has asked Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson to investigate Finance Minister Bill Morneau over a bill he sponsored that affects pensions and could benefit his former firm, Morneau Shepell.

“Years from now, when you look through the political handbook of Canada, right beside of the definition of ‘conflict of interest’ will be a picture of Morneau,” NDP MP Nathan Cullen said at a news conference in the foyer of the Commons on Tuesday.

Morneau tabled bill C-27 last October, which would allow for the creation of target benefit pension plans and make it possible to convert existing defined benefit pension plans into target plans. The call to investigate comes after The Globe and Mail reported that Morneau did not place his assets in a blind trust when he joined cabinet.

Morneau’s former firm promotes and manages target pension plans. The Globe also reported that Morneau owned 2.07 million common shares in Morneau Shepell at the time of the 2015 election – which would be worth more than $43 million today.

So far, Morneau has not said whether he still owns these shares.

“This increase in target benefit plans — that’s what C–27 deals with directly — benefits Morneau Shepell and directly benefits the finance minister,” said Cullen.

“The appearance of conflict of interest in this case is worrisome. It is shocking and last night I wrote to the ethics commissioner asking her to launch an investigation into what from all intensive purposes appears to be a striking conflict of interest with a minister of the Crown.

“Morneau, through a whole series of ethical choices, has been increasingly losing the faith of Canadians and I’d suggest perhaps the faith of the prime minister in conducting his basic duties,” Cullen added, saying that in his 14 years in office he’d never seen a case like this.

Cullen pointed out that Prime Minister Paul Martin put his assets in a blind trust, as did Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau.

“It’s almost to the point of a loss for words because, when you look at the situation, it’s one of very few choices for this finance minister. It’s either tremendous lack of ethics or tremendous lack of judgement.”

Cullen said Morneau has been asked multiple times if he still owns shares in Morneau Shepell and he’s refused to answer at every opportunity. He said Morneau’s situation is equivalent to a natural resource minister owning vast shares in oil companies and not putting them in a blind trust, or a health minister owning a pharmaceutical company and moving legislation that would affect such companies.

“I’ve never seen a finance minister in this much trouble, on a personal, ethical level.”

Cullen called Morneau “wounded” but said time will tell if his mistakes have been fatal to his political career.

“He is certainly in a world of trouble and my concern is that the focus on economy becomes a lot less when the finance minister is embroiled in so much personal and ethical dilemmas.”