Category: WE Charity Scandal

Election Day: Trudeau Wants Vaccination for All; O’Toole Warns About Trudeau’s Track Record

Hot-topic issues like the pandemic and vaccination, skyrocketing house prices, and indigenous reconciliation have driven the debate these past few weeks in the federal election campaign, and today voters will choose what matters most to them and who they think will actually deliver on their promises. Party leaders concluded their campaigning on Sept. 19 with…


Committee’s Recommendations to Protect Against Secret Lobbying ‘Not Strong Enough’: Democracy Advocate

Recommendations in a Commons committee report on the WE Charity scandal to safeguard against secret lobbying and conflicts of interest in government spending fall short, says the co-founder of a government accountability watchdog group. “Essentially, even if the recommendations of the committee were put in place, secret lobbying would still be legal,” Democracy Watch co-founder…


Opposition Shuts WE Hearing as Liberals Again Refuse to Let Staffer Testify

OTTAWA—Opposition members shut down a parliamentary committee hearing Wednesday after the Liberal government once again refused to let a political aide appear to answer questions about the now-dead deal with WE Charity. Members of the House of Commons’ ethics committee had asked Amitpal Singh, a senior adviser to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, to testify after…


Tories Demand PM Testify on WE Deal, Liberals Say House Leader Will Appear Instead

OTTAWA—The conditions for a brawl appear to be set after Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez announced that he will testify at a parliamentary committee about the now-dead WE deal on Monday, rather than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or members of his staff. In a letter to the chair of the House of Commons ethics committee…


Tories Seek to Force PMO Staff, or PM Himself, to Testify at Commons’ Committees

OTTAWA—The federal Conservatives are seeking to use the power of the House of Commons to force senior Liberal staff—or the prime minister himself—to testify before committees. They’re introducing a motion today aimed at getting three members of the prime minister’s staff before the ethics committee to provide more information on the WE Charity affair. They…


Kielburger Brothers, MPs Battle Over WE Operations, Deal to Run Federal Program

OTTAWA—Craig and Marc Kielburger accused a parliamentary committee of engaging in a political trial Monday as its members grilled the brothers over WE Charity’s operations, including its since-cancelled deal to run a federal program for student volunteers. The heated exchange had the Kielburgers accusing political parties of trying to score points at the expense of children around…


Kielburgers Defend WE Charity, Blast Committee Hearing as Political Trial

OTTAWA—Craig and Marc Kielburger say a parliamentary committee’s study into WE Charity is nothing short of a political trial, accusing MPs of trying to score points at the expense of children around the world. The brothers delivered the indictment of the House of Commons ethics committee this afternoon as they defended WE’s operations and structure…


MPs Vote to Issue Summons for Kielburger Brothers to Testify at Ethics Committee

OTTAWA—Members of the House of Commons ethics committee have unanimously voted to summon WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to testify. Last week, they declined requests to do so, a fact that MPs from all parties expressed concerns about on Monday. A summons from a Commons committee has legal force, and the motion gives…


Parliament Prorogation Was ‘Delay Tactic’ Against WE Charity Probe, Committee Hears

The primary reason for last year’s Parliament prorogation was to get Prime Minister Justin Trudeau out of the WE Charity controversy, the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) heard on Thursday. On June 25, 2020, the WE Charity was awarded a federal contract of $43.5 million to administer a student summer grant program, despite the organization’s…