Image copyright
Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he “made a mistake” by joining in talks to award a government contract to a charity that paid his family.
We Charity was tapped by their government to oversee a C $ 900 million ($ 664 million, £ 533 million) youth volunteer program in June.
It later emerged that we previously paid Mr. Trudeau’s family members more than C $ 280,000 to speak at events.
Trudeau now faces his third investigation by the ethics commission in the charge of the scandal.
“I made a mistake not to recuse myself from the discussions immediately, given my family’s history,” Trudeau said Monday.
“It shouldn’t have been part of the discussion.”
Mr. Trudeau has not been paid by the organization, although he has spoken at We events for free.
The prime minister said he should have known that his family had been paid, as they are frequently hired to participate in professional talks.
In a statement on its website, the charity said it was the federal public service, and not Mr. Trudeau or his cabinet, who asked him to oversee a national youth volunteer program.
“We agreed to this challenge because we have 25 years of experience creating youth service programs at 7,000 Canadian schools that engage students to support more than 3,000 charities and causes,” wrote Co-Founders Craig and Marc Kielburger.
- We Charity Withdraws from Canada’s $ 664 Million Student Grant Contract
They said the contract included funds to cover the administrative cost of the program, but did not provide the charity with a “profit”.
We confirm that Mr. Trudeau’s mother and brother were paid for past engagements. “We respect public concern” about those fees, the charity said.
What is charity?
We Charity was founded 25 years ago by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger at their parents’ home in Thornhill, Ontario, when Craig was 12 years old.
Formerly known as Free the Children, the organization focused on ending child exploitation and quickly gained international recognition.
Its co-founders became local celebrities and appeared on television shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes.
Image copyright
fake pictures
Ms Grégoire-Trudeau (left) is an ambassador for WE’s ‘wellness’ program and has appeared at WE Day events.
We Day motivational talk conferences have become initiation rites for many young Canadians, who are drawn to his message that they can change the world and his roster of famous speakers and performers. Guests have included basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and singer Demi Lovato.
This spring a UK We Day event at London’s Wembley Arena attracted 12,000 attendees. Speakers included actor Idris Elba and Mr. Trudeau’s wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau.
What was We Charity hired for?
Mr. Trudeau faces scrutiny over the decision to give We Charity the only contract to run Canada’s new Student Services Grant program.
The C $ 900 million (£ 525 million; $ 600 million) program was designed to connect postsecondary students with paid volunteer opportunities that would help make up for the lack of available summer jobs as a result of Covid-19.
Trudeau said We Charity was the “only” organization capable of meeting these goals. Most of the other government programs for the recovery of Covid-19 have been administered by the civil service.
What is the controversy?
The contract immediately raised eyebrows and accusations of favoritism, as it outsourced a massive federal aid program to a private organization with close ties to the prime minister.
On July 2, We Charity announced that it would withdraw from the contract because the show had been “entangled in controversy since the time of its announcement.”
Image copyright
Free Getty Images Children
Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger started working nonprofit when we were kids.
The federal ethics commissioner also announced that he would review the decision to award the contract to We Charity.
Since then, it became known that Mr. Trudeau’s mother and brother had received more than C $ 280,000 together for speaking at various We events over the years.
Margaret Trudeau was paid $ 250,000 for speaking at 28 We events over four years, and Prime Minister Alexander’s brother was paid $ 32,000 for speaking at eight events between 2017-2018.
Revelations that not only was the family closely linked to the organization, but that they had been paid to speak, intensified the debate.
The two daughters of Trudeau’s finance minister, Bill Morneau, also have connections to the organization, according to the Canadaland media outlet.
What does this mean for Trudeau?
This is Trudeau’s third ethics investigation since he became Prime Minister.
The first concerned a Christmas vacation at Aga Khan’s home in the Bahamas in 2017, which included a free ride in a private helicopter.
Media playback is not supported on your device
The second investigation, about the prosecution of engineering firm SNC Lavalin, nearly cost Trudeau last fall’s election.
Former Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould accused Trudeau and his staff of spending months trying to convince her that bringing SNC-Lavalin to trial would cost Canadians jobs and her party’s votes.
In both cases, the ethics commission found that Trudeau had violated the rules.
- SNC Lavalin: the crisis that could topple the Prime Minister of Canada
- The good news, and the bad news, for the Prime Minister of Canada
Opposition parties say the latest We Charity scandal is more of the same behavior.
The Conservative Party has asked the RCMP to open a criminal investigation into the We Charity debacle.
Conservative MPs are asking both Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Morneau to testify before a parliamentary committee investigating We’s contract.
This is bad news for Trudeau and his Liberal Party, who form a minority government and need the support of other parties to avoid an election.
A recent survey by Angus Reid found that half of Canadians (50%) approved the PM, while almost half (48%) disapproved. It’s a slight drop from a peak of 55% in May during Covid-19’s heyday, but still significantly higher than its pre-coronavirus approval rating of 33% in February.
The polling company noted that “the intensity of the positive versus negative evaluation is surprising”: twice as many disapprove (34%) as approve (16%).
