OTTAWA—Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are the reason the interim ethics commissioner quit, Liberal House Leader Mark Holland said Thursday as the government remained on the defensive over its ethical track record. Still, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the choice, noting she joined the office under the previous Conservative government, was second-in-command and there are procedures in place to guard from conflicts. Ethics office can’t make decisionsRichards’ office noted that without a commissioner in place, there are decisions in the office that simply cannot be taken, though they did not elaborate. One piece of guidance they gave recently was to Trudeau regarding a trip his family was taking to Jamaica over the Christmas holiday. So far, he has kept saying he was with family friends, and had ensured ahead of time that would be in keeping with ethics rules.

Source: thestar April 21, 2023 19:36 UTC