Canadian charity in Justin Trudeau ethics probe paid over US$200,000 to PM’s mother and brother

Prime minister under investigation for conflict of interest after government awarded US$660 million contract to WE Charity

Organisation said last week it would no longer be administering the student grant programme for which the contract was awarded

The Canadian charity at the heart of a conflict-of-interest investigation into Justin Trudeau disclosed on Thursday that it had paid the Canadian prime minister’s mother and brother a total of more than C$280,000 (US$206,000) to speak at events it organised.

The WE Charity Canada statement confirmed earlier reports by news site Canadaland, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

The youth-focused charity said it paid honoraria to Trudeau’s mother, Margaret, amounting to C$250,000 (US$184,000) for speaking at about 28 events, while his brother Alexandre spoke at eight events and received about C$32,000 (US$23,540). The events took place between 2016 and 2020.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3092577/canadian-charity-justin-trudeau-ethics-probe-paid

https://globalnews.ca/news/7161679/tories-call-for-criminal-probe-we-contracts-trudeau-family-fees/

Tories ask RCMP to launch criminal probe into Trudeau family’s WE connections

The Conservative Party wants the RCMP to investigate the Liberal government’s decision to award a contract to WE Charity for a $900-million federal student grant program, following news that members of the prime minister’s immediate family were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees by the WE organization in recent years.

During a news conference on Friday, Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre and Michael Barrett — the party’s finance and ethics critics — said they believe the payment of those fees raises the issue to a potentially criminal level and represents “sufficient grounds to be investigated by police.”

In an open letter to the RCMP commissioner distributed later Friday, Barrett referenced a few subsections of the Criminal Code related to bribery of judicial officers and government fraud and suggested that “at first blush,” the financial transactions between the WE organization and Trudeau family members may have breached the law.

Barrett’s letter also cites government records that show seven grants or contributions to WE Charity totaling just under $5.2 million, as well as another five contracts awarded to the charity worth just over $120,000.

The records for WE Charity, which are available online, start in March of 2017 — about two years after the current Liberal government was first elected.

“I encourage the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate the possibility of criminal offences arising from these disturbing facts,” Barrett wrote.

Asked whether the national police service would launch a criminal probe as requested, the RCMP’s media relations office said the force “generally does not confirm or deny if an investigation is underway unless criminal charges are laid.”

“We therefore cannot provide further information on this matter,” the statement from RCMP said.

WE Charity had been selected by the federal government to administer a $900-million grant program for students and recent graduates volunteering this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic. The agreement quickly provoked backlash, given the ties the prime minister and his wife have to the WE organization.

The government and WE Charity called off the deal on July 3, the same day the federal ethics watchdog announced that he would investigate whether the prime minister broke conflict-of-interest rules in the matter. The public service is now administering the program, called the Canada Student Services Grant.

Then on Thursday, WE Charity confirmed that the prime minister’s mother, Margaret Trudeau, had been paid a total of $312,000 for speaking at 28 WE events between 2016 and 2020. His brother, Alexandre Trudeau, was paid $40,000 for eight events in the 2017-18 academic year, according to the charity.

Justin Trudeau Breaks Canadian Law AGAIN In Alleged Pay-For-Play Non Profit Scandal

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stepped in it again. He’s apparently violated Canadian ethics laws by awarding a $900 Million government contract to a “non-profit” that members of his family have raked in $282,000 from via speaking fees.

The $900 Million contract was awarded to the WE Charity to dole out $5000 checks to youth who put in 500 hours of “volunteer” work over the summer, due to Covid preventing them from getting normal jobs. WE Charity was due to graciously accept $19.5 Million into their pockets for the deed.

Trudeau initially claimed that the WE Charity was the only entity capable of executing this task, as the CBC reported in June:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today the WE Charity is the only organization capable of administering more than $900 million in grants for students this summer.

Speaking to reporters during a COVID-19 briefing, Trudeau said federal public servants identified WE as the organization with the best nationwide network for connecting young people to paid volunteer positions this summer.

WE will administer the Canada Student Service Grant, which will provide eligible students with up to $5,000 to support the costs of post-secondary education in the fall. The amount of each grant will depend on the amount of time the recipient devotes to volunteer work.

Then people actually did some digging around. The Star reports of the Trudeau family ties to the WE Charity:

Trudeau is facing his third ethics investigation as prime minister for his government’s decision to sole-source the delivery of a $900-million volunteering grant program to WE Charity.

The prime minister has said that both he and his family had “voluntarily” worked with WE in the past and they intend to continue that work. But WE confirmed that members of Trudeau’s family, including his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, have received financial compensation for speaking at WE-hosted events.

The existence of financial payments between WE and the Trudeau family was first reported by Canadaland and CBC News on Thursday.

Margaret Trudeau, the prime minister’s mother, received $250,000 in honorariums for speaking at 28 WE-hosted events between 2016 and 2020. Alexandre Trudeau, the prime minister’s brother, received $32,000 in speaking fees between 2017 and 2018.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/justin-trudeau-breaks-canadian-law-alleged-pay-play-non-profit-scandal/