Amid calls from political opponents for his resignation, Canada’s finance minister did just that on Monday night. But the minister, Bill Morneau, insisted his decision to step down was not related to a conflict-of-interest scandal that has embroiled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. Instead, Mr. Morneau said he was resigning because he did not intend to run in the next parliamentary election and that it was time for a new finance minister to take over as the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis shifted from emergency relief to longer-term planning for an economic recovery,Mr. Morneau’s resignation came six days after Mr. Trudeau issued a statement affirming that he had “full confidence” in his finance minister. Mr. Morneau and Mr. Trudeau have been under political fire for not removing themselves from the cabinet discussion when a substantial no-bid contract was awarded to a charity that had connections to both of their families. In Mr. Morneau’s case, his daughter has an administrative job with the group, to which he and his wife have been substantial donors.

Source: New York Times August 18, 2020 02:15 UTC