OTTAWA—Former finance minister Bill Morneau has admitted he broke federal elections law last year when he promoted two Liberal candidates at government events in the pre-election period, and has agreed to pay a $300 fine. The investigation into Morneau’s actions was triggered by a formal complaint by Conservative MP Peter Kent, who objected to unelected Liberal candidates attending taxpayer-funded government announcements. Speaking as finance minister, Morneau boosted Anand, a law professor, at a July 29, 2019 Oakville Chamber of Commerce speech, highlighting her “significant accomplishments” as Anand was in the crowd, sat in on a roundtable and attended a factory tour with him. In a written statement to the Star , Fisher said, “It was an honour to host Mr. Morneau in our riding last year. My campaign team and I were diligent in following all the Elections Act rules surrounding the event where Mr. Morneau was speaker, including never referring to him as finance minister.

Source: thestar September 10, 2020 14:53 UTC