https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53494560

WE charity scandal - A simple guide to the new crisis for Trudeau

Mr Trudeau is facing the third ethics investigation of his five years in office over the government's decision to award a contract worth up to $43.5m to WE Charity Canada.

The programme was designed to connect post-secondary students to paid volunteer opportunities to make up for summer job prospects that had disappeared during the pandemic.

It later emerged that Mr Trudeau's mother and brother had been paid for speaking at various WE events over the years.

Margaret Trudeau was paid C$250,000 for speaking at 28 WE events over four years, and brother Alexander was paid C$32,000 for speaking at eight between 2017-2018.

Mr Trudeau has also made regular appearances himself - including its first ever event in 2007, according to news site iPolitics - and his wife, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, hosted a wellness podcast for the charity.

The prime minister didn't recuse himself from discussions related to the decision to grant WE the contract. He has apologised for that.

The federal ethics watchdog has confirmed his office is looking into the matter.

Trudeau admits 'mistake' amid third ethics inquiry

"This country is governed by a fairly small circle of elites and there's a cult of the insider that buttresses this, that produces these kinds of scandals fairly routinely," says Canadian political theorist David Moscrop.

"That's the structural problem - that Canada ends up being a small country governed by a small handful of people."