Trade Minister Says She Believed Contracts Awarded to Friend Were Compliant with Ethics Rules

Trade Minister Says She Believed Contracts Awarded to Friend Were Compliant with Ethics Rules
Canada's International Trade Minister Mary Ng speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 29, 2021. Reuters/Blair Gable
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International Trade Minister Mary Ng says she believed that the sole-sourced contracts her office awarded to a friend in 2020 were in compliance with federal conflict of interest laws and that none of her staff ever raised concerns that the contracts might be unethical.

“I believed that we were acting in full compliance and that was my mistake,” Ng told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Ethics on Feb. 10.