You’ve likely heard by now about the Prime Minister’s latest ethics scandal – the WE charity debacle.
In case you missed it, here are the facts we know at the time I’m writing this: the PM tried to route 900 million dollars through the WE charity to deliver a government program, even claiming that no other organization could possibly handle the job. No other organization even had a chance to apply – just WE. It was then revealed that WE charity is deeply connected to the Liberal Party.
We found out that three members of Justin Trudeau’s family have been paid almost $300,000 to appear at WE Charity events. It was also revealed that Finance Minister Bill Morneau has two family members involved in WE. Further, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, and Katie Telford (Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff) were involved in helping to raise $400,000 for WE Charity in 2010 and 2011.
In summary, the Prime Minister and his cabinet tried to send nearly a billion dollars to an organization that had paid members of his family huge sums, and that had serious conflicts of interest with other members of his government.
That can’t happen in a democracy. We have called for an immediate criminal investigation. And we are pursuing answers through a variety of other means as well. At our request, the Ethics Commissioner is now investigating, which is the third time that Justin Trudeau has been under investigation. But that’s not enough for an issue this serious. Parliament must immediately be recalled so that Opposition parties can ask questions and get to the bottom of this – while this enormous scandal is unfolding, MPs still can’t take their seats in Parliament due to the government’s undemocratic shut down. We need the Finance Committee conducting an accelerated investigation (the Finance committee’s investigation began on July 16). The Ethics Committee must immediately be reconvened to hear witness testimony. The Trudeau government must immediately hand over all of the documents related to this contract. The Ethics Commissioner must accelerate his investigation. The Auditor General and the Procurement Ombudsman must investigate. No stone can be left unturned.
The Prime Minister has already been found guilty of accepting a paid vacation on a luxury island. He was found guilty for his involvement in the SNC-Lavalin Corruption Scandal. Now, he is under investigation for the third time in three years. I think three strikes and you’re out is a fitting rule in this situation.
I will continue to update you as this scandal unfolds. Rest assured that my colleagues and I are absolutely committed to getting to the bottom of what the Liberals have been up to.
As always, my Ottawa office can be reached at martin.shields@parl.gc.ca. My Brooks office can be reached at 403-793-6775 or martin.shields.c1@parl.gc.ca, and my Strathmore office at 403-361-2980 or martin.shields.c1B@parl.gc.ca. Please don’t hesitate to contact me.
