Trudeau again caught found in political firestorm
For the third time in as many years, Canadian Primary Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday found himself at the centre of a political firestorm - this time over the awarding of a lucrative government contract to a charity that also paid hefty sums to his members of the family.
Canada's Conservative opposition offers demanded a good police investigation to discover whether fraud was committed found in the granting of the practically billion-dollar deal to WE Charity. The business has admitted paying almost C$300,000 (S$307,051) to Trudeau's mom, brother and wife for speaking engagements.
And Trudeau himself admitted to taking part in negotiations with the charity over the agreement. WE Charity has said it was withdrawing from the C$900 million federal system, which provides grants as high as C$5,000 to eligible students for volunteer work with non-profit organizations through the coronavirus pandemic.
"We know that we now have significant financial benefits which may have been received by the category of the Primary Minister," Conservative lawmaker Michael Barrett told reporters. "It is rather clear there is satisfactory grounds for this subject to come to be investigated by the authorities," he added. "We've a sole-source contract worthwhile a billion dollars, an application that was created out of nothing," Barrett said.
The country's ethics watchdog said the other day that it had launched a probe into the 48-year-old Prime Minister after the contract was awarded to the charity in June.
The charity paid out his mom, Margaret, C$250,000 for speeches at 28 events between 2016 and 2020, in line with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). WE Charity as well paid Prime Minister Trudeau's brother Alexandre C$32,000 for his participation in eight happenings, the CBC reported.
And the Primary Minister's office confirmed that Trudeau's wife, Sophie, "received C$1,500" for taking part in a WE celebration in 2012, before he overran the leadership of the Liberal Get together. "The Prime Minister's family members engage with a range of businesses and support many personal causes by themselves accord," Trudeau's business office said in a news release on Thursday. "What's important to remember here's that this is about a charity supporting pupils." But only a day before, Trudeau's office said that neither he nor his wife got ever received payment for appearing at happenings hosted by non-governmental agencies.
Canadian media also reported that a child of Finance Minister Bill Morneau received obligations from WE Charity.
The Conservative Get together says the prevailing ethics probe is insufficient, given the brand new revelations about the sums paid to the Trudeau family prior to the contract was awarded. "It isn't simply a conflict of curiosity. It's much more serious than that," said Conservative lawmaker Pierre Poilievre. He asked federal government police to research whether there have been violations of laws regulating "frauds on federal government".
The Bloc Quebecois party asked Mr Trudeau to step apart while the investigation is ongoing, and invite his deputy to fulfil his duties. "The type of the allegations, the significant sums included, the obvious flagrant conflict of curiosity, the possibility that a criminal inquiry could follow on this matter make it difficult for the prime minister to accomplish his job," said get together chief Yves-Francois Blanchet.
The ethics commissioner has recently released two reports concluding that Mr Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act in 2017 for taking a vacation on the Aga Khan's private island, and this past year for trying to influence legal proceedings in the SNC-Lavalin case, when a subsidiary of the engineering company was accused of paying bribes to secure contracts in Libya.
