O’Toole: Trudeau faces ‘conflict of interest’ if he picks next governor general
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should not nominate the next governor general on his own because doing so during a minority government could pose a potential conflict of interest. In an interview with Evan Solomon for CTV’s Question Period, O’Toole suggested that Trudeau should use an arms-length panel to nominate the next governor general, a move the Conservatives have pushed for since Julie Payette’s resignation. O’Toole said that, with the possibility of an election looming, Trudeau should not be personally involved in the decision. “In a minority Parliament where the prime minister is every day posturing that he might walk to the governor general, I think he’s in a conflict of interest, personally,” O’Toole said. Trudeau said last week that he is reassessing the vetting process for top-level appointments to see how it can be improved to avoid future unprecedented departures, though he was non-committal on what any potential changes may look like.