generalspeaking

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Pushing the Limits of Conflicts of Interest -- A Muddle is: Playing Both Ends Against the Middle

"The nature of the allegations, the importance of the sums in play, the blatant appearance of conflict of interest, the possibility ... that there are criminal investigations on this file in the future, make it impossible for the Prime Minister to continue in his functions."

"When one holds a function as important as that of prime minister, you have an obligation to be above all suspicions. And this would not be the first time that Trudeau woefully fails a probity test."

Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives on stage at We Day on Parliament Hill. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

"Justin Trudeau has never been paid by WE Charity or ME to WE Social Enterprise for any speeches or other matters", declared the umbrella organization representing the purported choice of the civil service in outsourcing the administration of a recently announced Liberal government initiative to pay Canadian students for volunteer work up to a maximum of $5,000 over the summer months. A charitable group whose organization Justin Trudeau lauded as superior, the 'only one' with the capacity to administer the special $900-million fund properly.

And then an independent news source called CANADALAND uncovered some embarrassing details overlooked by WE Charity and the Prime Minister's Office alike. That the volunteer work undertaken by the prime minister's Mother, Margaret Trudeau, and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and his brother Alexandre Trudeau, was handsomely paid for by the charity. For Margaret Trudeau, 28 speaking engagements netted her $312,000. Her son was paid $40,000 for eight appearances on behalf of the group.

And Mrs. Sophie Trudeau, a good-will ambassador for the charity, and speaker at their major events earned an insignificant financial honorarium. All this, and the unhealthy odour emanating from sole-sourcing a contract to the value of close to a billion dollars to a Trudeau-family-favoured charity, a breach of ethical conduct of breathtaking audacity and entitlement. When the Parliamentary Ethics Commissioner faulted Justin Trudeau for a family vacation on a private Bermuda island owned by the Aga Khan, Trudeau protested he was an old family friend.

When the Ethics Commissioner reported on the second conflict of interest violation when Justin Trudeau attempted to manipulate then-Attorney-General Jody Wilson-Raybould to waive a criminal case pending against Quebec-based SNC-Lavalin, it was after he had booted the Minister of Justice, Ms.Wilson Raybould, out of Cabinet for resisting a Liberal campaign to intimidate her into obeying Trudeau's recommendation that SNC Lavalin's case of corruption not be criminalized.

The illegal, unethical handover to a hand-picked Trudeau family-favoured charity of close to a billion dollars to administer a special fund to reward volunteerism, will be the third occasion that the Ethics Commissioner has undertaken an examination of Justin Trudeau's questionable actions. He was previously condemned for contravening the Conflict of Interest Act on two occasions, and now a third will be added. And nor is the Ethics Commissioner's the only enquiry to go forward as a result of this tawdry affair; two separate parliamentary committees are also prepared to investigate.

Margaret Trudeau at a WE day event . (Alastair Grant/The Associated Press)

"The Prime Minister's relatives engage with a variety of organizations and support many personal causes on their own accord."

"What is important to remember here is that this is about a charity supporting students. The Canada Student Service Grant program is about giving young people opportunities to contribute to their communities, not about benefits to anyone else."

Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, Prime Minister's Office spokesperson

"No you don't get to put up 'won't someone please think of the children' as a defence from ethics scrutiny."

"How on Earth is there no one in the PMO who thought to advise the Prime Minister to recuse himself from discussions on this? How did the PMO, after Aga Khan and SNC-Lavalin, not think to recuse himself?"

James Cohen, executive director, Transparency International Canada

"Today's news is scandalous. We now know that Justin Trudeau handed almost a billion-dollar contract to a charity that not only had close ties to the Liberal Party, but which paid his family almost $300,000. Parliament must immediately be recalled so that we can get to the bottom of this."

"Canadians deserve answers and the Prime Minister and his government must be held accountable."

Michael Barrett, Conservative ethics critic

Co-founders Craig (left) and Marc Kielburger introduce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau as they appear at the WE Day celebrations in Ottawa, Tuesday November 10, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Labels: Conflict of Interest, Ethics Commissioner, Liberal Government of Canada, Prime Minister JustinTrudeau