Trudeau’s problems arose after the contract, worth up to C $ 43.5 million, was signed with WE Charity to administer a C $ 544 million student grant program that is part of Canada’s pandemic response. Trudeau has already been convicted of violating conflict of interest laws since he became minister in 2015 twice before and the back row has launched an investigation by the ethics commissioner once again, an investigation that encompasses his minister of finance, and calls his rivals for resignation
WE works on international development projects and educational programs, primarily in the United States and Canada, that teach youth about civic engagement. But the deal, announced in late June, was canceled in a matter of days amid a riot over the charity’s connections to the Trudeau family, including revelations that the organization has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. for speaking, traveling and hospitality on the part of the organization. The last half decade.
Trudeau himself has spoken at the main WE events and his wife has been one of the group’s ambassadors, which is an unpaid role except for expenses.
While answering questions on Thursday, Trudeau repeated that, in retrospect, he should have withdrawn from the Cabinet decision-making process around the contract once he discovered WE was involved. He also emphasized that the cloud of the pandemic had accelerated the overall pace of policy discussions and that he did not intervene in the recommendation to go with WE, which came from the public service.
Trudeau said government officials informed him that given the short period of time it was a binary option: going with WE or the program would not move forward at all.
At another point in the hearing, Trudeau suggested that because of those past ethical controversies, he approached the WE contract with more caution.
But Trudeau’s critics were not influenced by his introspection. New Democratic MP Charlie Angus said he did not buy the prime minister’s explanation, calling it “an obvious conflict of interest” due to his connection to WE co-founders Marc and Craig Kielburger.
“There were numerous red flags with this proposal. “It collapsed the moment it was announced,” Angus told Trudeau. “He gives the impression … that he does not believe in the laws that define what politicians can and cannot apply to him.”
Angus said Trudeau’s actions that led to the cancellation of the contract have hurt youths who hoped to be compensated for volunteer opportunities this summer.
Trudeau took a risk by appearing before a parliamentary committee, where opponents can question witnesses in sometimes chaotic settings known for constant interruptions, loud voices, and irritable exchanges.
The prime minister was repeatedly pressured about how much we paid for his wife’s recent trip to an event in London, if he had read the Conflict of Interest Act and had eluded questions about who would be fired for the decision to award the WE contract.
WE’s withdrawn contract has also inundated Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Trudeau’s trusted economic quarterback from the federal Covid-19 response. Morneau revealed to the same committee last week that he paid no more than C $ 41,000 in travel travel expenses that he, his wife, and one of their daughters took with WE in 2017. Morneau, who has a daughter who works for WE, insisted in which he only realized that he had not paid the travel expenses.
Morneau, who is also being investigated by the ethics commissioner, also publicly apologized for not recusing himself from the decision to award the contract to WE.
Both Trudeau and Morneau have faced demands from their political rivals to resign over the issue, and polls suggest that the controversy has already eroded Trudeau’s liberal support and approval ratings, which increased after the start of the pandemic.
Since last fall’s elections, there has been little apparent appetite among opposition parties to defeat Trudeau’s minority liberal government and spark other elections. But conservatives are ready to elect a new leader in late August and may be tempted to topple the government.
The prime minister has shown that he can resist scandals, including the public release during last year’s election campaign of images of him with a brown face 20 years ago.
His first violation of the ethics law was during a 2016 vacation with all the expenses he and his family brought to the private Caribbean island of Aga Khan. Then last year, the ethics regulator discovered that Trudeau violated the conflict of interest law after he and his staff repeatedly urged his former attorney general to strike a deal with engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, which faced corruption charges.
Trudeau also withstood the blow of a 2018 trip to India when he had to rescind a dinner invitation he had sent to a Sikh extremist who had been accused of trying to murder an Indian politician.
Despite the controversies, Trudeau was re-elected last year, but voters reduced him and his liberals to minority status in Parliament. The weakened mandate has forced them to work with opposition parties to pass laws and keep the government afloat.
The WE contract has also placed more scrutiny on the financial activities of the large international charity. Earlier this week, the Kielburgers submitted questions to the finance committee.
WE have had a considerable international reach. Its website, which features photos of the Kielburgers posing with international celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, says the organization has worked with some of the “most recognized thinkers and social activists in the world.”
