Canada’s finance minister Bill Morneau is splendidly rich. Practically a billionaire, in fact. How rich is he? When he was required to list his assets upon entering government, he forgot he had a private villa in France. (More specifically, he forgot to mention that he and his wife, Nancy—an heir to the McCain fortune—were joint owners of the private company that owned the villa.) An easy oversight, and one that most Canadians can relate to, I’m sure.
And let’s be honest. If I owned a private villa in France, not only would I NOT forget it, I wouldn’t let anyone else forget it either. “Hello! Dave, is it? Nice to meet you, Dave. Say, did I ever mention that I OWN A FRICKIN’ VILLA IN FRANCE?”
Unfortunately, not disclosing his directorship in this company, or the full value of said villa in France, is a violation of Canada’s ethics code. An investigation was launched, and justice was swift! The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner came down hard on Morneau. His punishment? A $200 fine.
Yup. Canada’s multi-millionaire finance minister had to cough up two hundred bucks. So don’t say the government doesn’t take parliamentary ethics seriously! I’ve had parking tickets that cost me more than that. Morneau probably drops more than that on a shoe shine. Still, good to know that the Liberals are being held to the highest moral standard! Yay Canada!
Hang on to your hats, kids! You ain’t seen nothing yet. That villa in France? That was just a warm-up. (See private islands, holidays on; number of ethics rules broken. Spoiler alert: four! So far.)