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The workings of the mind of Bill Morneau are becoming a real puzzle.

On Thursday, the federal finance minister took another step to escape the controversy surrounding his disastrous tax reform plan, pledging to donate to charity all the profit he’s made on Morneau Sheppell shares since becoming finance minister. It’s not clear just how much that will be, though estimates put it at $5 million or more.

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Shortly after the announcement, he gave an interview to Global News, which broadcast a portion of the questioning. In it, Morneau rejected any suggestion that giving away the money was an acknowledgement that he should have put his holdings in a blind trust when he became finance minister. Pressed on whether he accepted the validity of concerns about his position, and the danger of a conflict of interest, he artfully dodged and weaved, sticking to pre-prepared talking points.

Anybody remember Nigel Wright?

All of which suggests that Morneau still can’t get his head around the fuss he’s created. Far from reassuring Canadians that he’s just an honest guy who’s trying to do the right thing, Morneau’s latest gambit creates the impression of a very rich man who is willing to pay millions of his own money to make a political problem go away. Have the Liberals already forgotten what happened to Nigel Wright when he wrote a $90,000 cheque in hopes of ending the Mike Duffy saga?