Ethics committee votes to study trade minister's conflict of interest violation

The House of Commons ethics committee has voted to study a conflict of interest violation by International Trade Minister Mary Ng.

The ethics committee is holding the special meeting following a request by four of its members.

According to a report by Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion last December, Ng broke conflict of interest rules in the spring of 2020 by awarding a contract to the public relations firm Pomp and Circumstance, which was co-founded by Amanda Alvaro, a friend of Ng’s.

"There is simply no excuse for contracting with a friend's company," Dion said in a statement in December.

Ng said during question period in the House of Commons in December that she takes “full responsibility” and should have recused herself.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in December “it sucks” when such cases arise, but it’s a sign the system is working that the public is aware of rule breaches.

"We have a system that has the kind of accountability and transparency that works and that is clear to reassure Canadians that if someone is taking advantage of the system — either deliberately or by accident — they'll get caught and called out on it. And that's an example of the institutions working," Trudeau said in a year-end conversation with Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National News Omar Sachedina.

"Now, from my perspective, it sucks. Because you don't want people to be making mistakes, you want people to be able to focus on delivering good things for Canadians,” Trudeau said.

In response to Dion’s report on Ng, Opposition MPs have pointed out the international trade minister is not the first of Trudeau’s cabinet members to be accused of breaking the rules.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTVNews.ca’s Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello