Trudeau 'welcomes' ethics probe of alleged PMO interference in SNC-Lavalin case

[Twin_Moose]

If only aliens would scoop him up and give him a proper probing for the good of all Canadians

 

[Twin_Moose]

EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Tam hired WE Charity for unspecified “services”

OLIVER: Trudeau’s apology was too little, too late

Katie Telford, the PM’s chief of staff, along with Shamus O’Regan, minister of natural resources, raised $400,000 for the predecessor of a We Charity before they were in government. Nevertheless, she did not recuse herself from internal discussions about the contract. Meanwhile, seven cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, have not yet replied to a request whether they had any involvement with WE, so there could be other damning revelations.

Based on parliamentary hearings, we learned WE (though not registered as a lobbyist!) pitched a proposal to several ministers and the idea was passed on to a senior bureaucrat from ‘someone’ in finance. Without a political signal, there is no way the 220,000-strong public administration decided on its own it was incapable of handling a massive giveaway program and that Trudeau’s favourite charity was the way to go, as he implied. Civil servants do not give up control over a huge spending program without prodding. Nor do they voluntarily create a scandal that would have been obvious to them, even if it mysteriously escaped their ministers’ attention. It’s also likely the clerk of the Privy Council raised concerns about the perception of conflict.........More

 

[pgs]

EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Tam hired WE Charity for unspecified “services”

OLIVER: Trudeau’s apology was too little, too late

Should any of this come as a surprise from a Liberal government ?

 

[Ron in Regina]

I’ve been tied up with life and work the last couple of days. Anybody catch Justin Trudeau’s testimony in front of the committee investigating the ‘WE’ shenanigans yesterday (Monday)? I’m not finding anything about it so far this morning....

 

[JLM]

I’ve been tied up with life and work the last couple of days. Anybody catch Justin Trudeau’s testimony in front of the committee investigating the ‘WE’ shenanigans yesterday (Monday)? I’m not finding anything about it so far this morning....

It HASN'T been a leading news story for sure. I'm not aware of any report.

 

[Twin_Moose]

I’ve been tied up with life and work the last couple of days. Anybody catch Justin Trudeau’s testimony in front of the committee investigating the ‘WE’ shenanigans yesterday (Monday)? I’m not finding anything about it so far this morning....

Pretty sure we can paraphrase the whole testimony
Um, uh, er, it was the ah, er public workers that um, ah that brought up to award er, ah WE with the sole ah, er, um contract, it was for the um, students er, effected by um, er, ah the pandemic. U wasn't ah, um, aware of my family getting er, ah, paid for speeches.
Repeated after every question thrust upon him


Found this for you Ron


Trudeau to appear in House, answer questions over WE Charity controversy
By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted July 21, 2020 7:22 am
Updated July 21, 2020 7:33 am

The Liberal government’s cancelled contract with an organization connected closely to the prime minister will be back in the spotlight Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected in the House of Commons, with the opposition raring to press him on how his cabinet decided to approve handing control over a $900-million student program to the WE Charity organization.

READ MORE: A timeline of key events in the WE Charity, Trudeau controversy

The Conservatives’ latest line of attack is linked to media reports of internal problems with WE, including one by Canadaland suggesting auditors had raised red flags about how the organization has handled its finances in recent years.

The Tories say that raises questions about how much due diligence was actually done before the contract to run the Canada Student Services Grant program was awarded to WE.

 

[Twin_Moose]

Paying volunteer students less than minimum wage was federal government's idea, says WE Charity

WE Charity founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to appear before Commons committee next week

WE Charity founders Craig and Marc Kielburger will appear before a House of Commons committee next week to answer questions about the Liberal government's partnership with the charity in a $900-million student grant program it was tasked with administering.

"A lot of things have been written and said about WE Charity over the last few weeks," Craig Kielburger said in a statement. "We look forward to an opportunity to talk directly to Canadians and set the record straight."

The House finance committee voted July 7 to hold four meetings to dig into how WE Charity entered a contribution agreement with the government to administer the student grant program.

The Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) program provides eligible students with up to $5,000 for volunteer work that they can put toward their education in the fall.

"Both Craig and I look forward to speaking about the work of WE Charity to assist with delivering the CSSG, under oath," said Marc who will appear with his brother at 1:00 p.m. ET on July 28.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have been under fire since announcing the program and the contract with WE Charity late last month because of the charity's association with the Trudeau family.

Trudeau and his mother, Margaret, have appeared at a number of WE Day events, while Trudeau's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, hosts a podcast for the group called "WE Well-being."

Payments to Trudeau family
Initially, WE Charity said members of the Trudeau family were not paid for appearing at WE events, although Grégoire Trudeau had been reimbursed for travel expenses.

Late last week, it emerged that Margaret Trudeau was paid approximately $250,000 for speaking at 28 events, while the PM's brother Alexandre spoke at eight events and received about $32,000.

The deal between WE Charity and the federal government has since been dissolved but the controversy over Trudeau's role in the contract continues to haunt his government.

Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Bardish Chagger revealed to the committee last week that WE Charity stood to earn $43.53 million by administering the program.

Initially, the federal government said WE Charity would get $19.5 million, with $5 million of that going toward not-for-profits to help them with administration costs. The first payment to WE Charity was intended to create 20,000 volunteer placements.

Chagger said last week that an additional $10.5 million would have been made available to WE to help smaller not-for-profits participate in the program, and another $13.53 million would have been given to WE to create an additional 20,000 volunteer placements, if necessary.

 

[pgs]

I’ve been tied up with life and work the last couple of days. Anybody catch Justin Trudeau’s testimony in front of the committee investigating the ‘WE’ shenanigans yesterday (Monday)? I’m not finding anything about it so far this morning....

Don’t know about testifying, but I heard he skipped parliament yesterday .

 

[JLM]

Don’t know about testifying, but I heard he skipped parliament yesterday .

It's amazing how such a bull shitter can last five years as a Prime Minister.

 

[captain morgan]

WE Charity is as good as done... No way that the CRA won't be auditing these toads

 

[Ron in Regina]

Don’t know about testifying, but I heard he skipped parliament yesterday .

He skipped answering any questions Tuesday also it seems. The committee investigating the WE Goat-Rodeo Shenanigans had to follow Trudeau into the Commons to ask question when he wouldn’t show up in front of the Committee itself....& still any answers where non-answers. If he actually gave a shit he would clear the air ASAP instead of playing games & dragging his feet...but here we are. The filibustering in the Committee Friday adjourned it with the promise that Trudeau would be there on Monday....which he skipped out on. What a....greasy move on his part. Pompous Arse.

 

[JLM]

He skipped answering any questions Tuesday also it seems. The committee investigating the WE Goat-Rodeo Shenanigans had to follow Trudeau into the Commons to ask question when he wouldn’t show up in front of the Committee itself....& still any answers where non-answers. If he actually gave a shit he would clear the air ASAP instead of playing games & dragging his feet...but here we are. The filibustering in the Committee Friday adjourned it with the promise that Trudeau would be there on Monday....which he skipped out on. What a....greasy move on his part. Pompous Arse.

His arrogance is mind boggling!

 

[pgs]

He skipped answering any questions Tuesday also it seems. The committee investigating the WE Goat-Rodeo Shenanigans had to follow Trudeau into the Commons to ask question when he wouldn’t show up in front of the Committee itself....& still any answers where non-answers. If he actually gave a shit he would clear the air ASAP instead of playing games & dragging his feet...but here we are. The filibustering in the Committee Friday adjourned it with the promise that Trudeau would be there on Monday....which he skipped out on. What a....greasy move on his part. Pompous Arse.

Only in Canada you say ? Pity .

 

[Twin_Moose]

Well they are starting to circle the wagons around Trudie to protect him, starting with the PCO clerk. Even though he admitted to be too busy to pay attention to what was happening there.

No evidence of Trudeau contact with WE Charity before deal awarded: PCO Clerk

OTTAWA — The federal government's top public servant says there is no evidence to suggest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with WE Charity before the organization was awarded a deal to run a student-volunteer program.

Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart made the comment during testimony Tuesday morning before the House of Commons finance committee.

He faced numerous questions about the decision to have WE Charity administer a $900-million student-volunteering program, including whether anyone in the public service raised red flags about the organization's finances.

Shugart told the committee Trudeau was briefed about the development of the program, and suggested the prime minister had no contact with the organization to which Trudeau and his family have close ties.

"There is absolutely no evidence, no suggestion in anything that I have reviewed that would suggest the prime minister had any interaction with the WE Charity in relation to this program," Shugart said.

"None whatsoever."

The now-aborted deal with WE could have paid the organization some $43.5 million. Shugart said the first tranche of funding for grants in exchange for volunteer hours was to be $500 million, with a budget ceiling of $912 million.

MPs want Trudeau to appear before the Commons committee, but he didn't answer a question from the opposition Tuesday about whether he'll accept the invite.

In the House of Commons itself, Trudeau — and his cabinet — were pummelled with questions about WE, with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer at one point accusing Trudeau of using the pandemic as an excuse for corruption, something Scheer called "gross and disgusting."

At the outset of the crisis, the Liberals had sought to give themselves extended and broad spending power, with limited oversight. They reversed course on that position but Scheer said Tuesday that Canadians now know why they wanted it.

"They will stop and take the time to reward their friends, that is the essence of this Liberal party, under this Liberal prime minister. I don't even have a question. It's just disgusting," Scheer said.

In response to direct questions on WE, Trudeau reiterated that he regretted not recusing himself from deliberations, but cabinet was following the advice of the non-partisan public service.

"The public service took a look at the ways they could deliver that program and determined that the WE organization was the only one that could deliver that program as ambitious as it was this summer," Trudeau said.

"I should have recused myself because of the connection with ... my family, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the public service recommended that organization."

Shugart's testimony provided more details about the timeline for that decision.....More

John Ivison: WE scandal has the potential to lead to Humpty Dumpty's fall

The public service was not aware that WE faced financial problems when it recommended the charity receive a $900 million contribution agreement with Ottawa to promote student volunteerism, the country’s top bureaucrat told a parliamentary committee.

Yet the question that remains unanswered is: Did Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau know about WE’s predicament?

Did they devise a program that only WE could deliver?

Ian Shugart, the Clerk of the Privy Council, was understandably busy in late April, coordinating the government’s response to COVID. As such, his knowledge of WE’s involvement with the Canada Student Services Grant program was sketchy.

At finance committee on Tuesday, he said no red flags were raised about WE’s ability to deliver a program that envisaged recruiting around 40,000 student volunteers (around one quarter of the number the government originally hoped for).

“There is not a precise process or established methodology,” he said about the due diligence the government employs. “Every situation is unique.”

Taxpayers might hope scrutiny at least extended to reading the agreement partner’s financial statements, particularly given the large amounts involved.

If public servants had taken a closer look at WE’s accounts, they would have discovered that on page 18, note 13 of the 2018 annual report, the charity had breached its bank covenants.

In addition, WE’s governance structure is labyrinthine, a tangle of non and for profit entities, with revenues flowing back and forth between the two in opaque fashion. WE’s entire board had either resigned or been replaced in the weeks before the agreement was made.

Top bureaucrat says no red flags were raised in government about outsourcing $912M program to WE Charity
Property brothers: Kielburgers facing scrutiny over WE organization's $50M real estate empire
WE organization under scrutiny for not registering as lobbyist before pitching proposals to Trudeau Liberals
The Gospel of WE, the legend of the Kielburgers and their secularly sacred movement
As Kate Bahen, managing director of Charity Intelligence, an independent charity watchdog, told the Canadaland news site, the bank covenant breach was a “massive, massive red flag.”

Shugart said the principle of using WE was logical. Third parties like the Red Cross and United Way had been used in the past to tap into expertise and contacts the bureaucracy did not have.

“The public service may be admirable but it’s not everything,” he said. “This is a standard means of doing business.” WE had partnerships with other charities and extensive social media reach with young people.

“WE was the only recommendation made, with the rationale that it was uniquely placed in our opinion,” he said. “There is absolutely no evidence, no suggestion that Trudeau interacted with WE about the agreement,” he said......More

 

[pgs]

Well they are starting to circle the wagons around Trudie to protect him, starting with the PCO clerk. Even though he admitted to be too busy to pay attention to what was happening there.

No evidence of Trudeau contact with WE Charity before deal awarded: PCO Clerk



John Ivison: WE scandal has the potential to lead to Humpty Dumpty's fall

Yup corrupt, lying , Non partisan Liberal civil servants . Remember them all streaming onto the Parliments grounds to welcome new P.M. Trudeau to Ottawant . Non partisan my eye .

 

[Ron in Regina]

Whoopsie: http://globalnews.ca/news/7203337/trudeau-we-charity-foundation-real-estate-holding-company/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government awarded the contract to run the $912-million student volunteer program to a foundation that only received charity status last year and whose stated purpose was to “hold real estate (?),” newly released records show.

Both a government and charity official confirmed the controversial Canada Student Service Grant contract was not with WE Charity, as Trudeau announced. Rather, the government gave the contract to the WE Charity Foundation, which is a distinct charity with no track record.

The WE Charity Foundation was incorporated as recently as January 2018. It was described by WE as inactive in August 2018 and only became a federally registered charity in April 2019. Its stated purpose was to hold tens of millions worth of WE Charity real estate

In his statements on the CSSG, Trudeau said it was to be “administered by WE Charity.” But late Tuesday, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Minister Bardish Chagger’s office confirmed the government had actually contracted the WE Charity Foundation. WE Charity and WE Charity Foundation are in fact different charities.

In Canada Revenue Agency documents, WE Charity Foundation said it was not a branch, section or division of any other charity. But the two organizations have the same Toronto address and phone number. WE Charity Foundation — a shell corporation with no assets, no history, no record of charitable work.

Charity lawyer Mark Blumberg said it was “shocking” the Trudeau government provided the $912-million student service grant to the WE Charity Foundation and not WE Charity. Blumberg said if WE Charity Foundation had been unable to complete the student volunteer program the government would have had little recourse to recover any funds.

“It would be like saying the Government of Ontario has given $100M to London, Ontario, to help fight the impact of COVID versus actually providing the funds to London, England,” he said.

More Whoopsie: http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/a-mistake-morneau-under-fire-over-41000-of-we-charity-expenses

OTTAWA – Finance Minister Bill Morneau repaid more than $41,000 in travel expenses to WE Charity Wednesday, just hours before testifying at the House of Commons finance committee about the $912-million contract the government gave them. More at the LINK...

 

[Ron in Regina]

Maybe: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trud...bout-ongoing-we-charity-controversy-1.5034845

"The Prime Minister has accepted the invitation to appear at the Finance Committee," the Prime Minister's Office confirmed in a statement. Don't hold your breath. More at the Link...

While the timing has not yet been determined for Trudeau's committee appearance, the chair of the finance committee, Wayne Easter, said on Wednesday that the committee had originally invited the prime minister to appear on July 28.

The finance committee isn’t the only parliamentary study taking place on the WE Charity. The committee on government operations and estimates voted on July 9 to hold its own study into the now-cancelled decision to award WE Charity the student grant contract.

The access to information, privacy and ethics is also slated to continue debating a motion to undertake a similar study at its next meeting.

Oh, & the Ethic's Guy thing....but whatever....$500 fine & nothing to see here....Move along...

 

[pgs]

Maybe: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trud...bout-ongoing-we-charity-controversy-1.5034845

"The Prime Minister has accepted the invitation to appear at the Finance Committee," the Prime Minister's Office confirmed in a statement. Don't hold your breath. More at the Link...

While the timing has not yet been determined for Trudeau's committee appearance, the chair of the finance committee, Wayne Easter, said on Wednesday that the committee had originally invited the prime minister to appear on July 28.

The finance committee isn’t the only parliamentary study taking place on the WE Charity. The committee on government operations and estimates voted on July 9 to hold its own study into the now-cancelled decision to award WE Charity the student grant contract.

The access to information, privacy and ethics is also slated to continue debating a motion to undertake a similar study at its next meeting.

Oh, & the Ethic's Guy thing....but whatever....$500 fine & nothing to see here....Move along...

But he gave a heart felt apology so everything is a okay .

 

[Twin_Moose]

Maybe: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trud...bout-ongoing-we-charity-controversy-1.5034845
"The Prime Minister has accepted the invitation to appear at the Finance Committee," the Prime Minister's Office confirmed in a statement. Don't hold your breath. More at the Link...
While the timing has not yet been determined for Trudeau's committee appearance, the chair of the finance committee, Wayne Easter, said on Wednesday that the committee had originally invited the prime minister to appear on July 28.
The finance committee isn’t the only parliamentary study taking place on the WE Charity. The committee on government operations and estimates voted on July 9 to hold its own study into the now-cancelled decision to award WE Charity the student grant contract.
The access to information, privacy and ethics is also slated to continue debating a motion to undertake a similar study at its next meeting.
Oh, & the Ethic's Guy thing....but whatever....$500 fine & nothing to see here....Move along...

He's going to put it off until there is enough deflection for him to weasel through IMO

Morneau repays $41K in travel expenses to WE, faces resignation calls

I found this part of the article kinda interesting

Morneau began his appearance at the finance committee by saying he sent a cheque to the WE organization Wednesday to repay $41,366 in expenses the group covered for trips his family took to Kenya and Ecuador in 2017 to see some of its humanitarian work.

In a statement following Morneau's testimony, WE said those trips were always meant to be complimentary, part of a practice of showing donors WE's work to encourage them to give more.

Morneau said he always planned to personally cover those amounts, but WE never charged him, much to his surprise after poring through receipts ahead of his testimony. He said his family has since made two $50,000 donations to the charity.

It wasn't appropriate to accept the expenses even unknowingly, Morneau said, adding he passed the information on to the ethics commissioner.

"I'm not making an excuse. It was my mistake," Morneau told the committee.....More

 

[Twin_Moose]

Back to Mark Norman the Gov. still covering it up?

Info czar finds 'possible offence' concerning access request about Mark Norman

OTTAWA — Information commissioner Caroline Maynard says she uncovered "evidence of the possible commission of an offence" related to the processing of an Access to Information request related to now-retired Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

In a report presented Wednesday to Parliament, Maynard said she passed the finding to Attorney General David Lametti in February of last year, since she does not have the authority to investigate such offences.

In turn, Lametti's office handed the file to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, given the concern related to the possible investigation and prosecution of an offence under federal legislation.

The prosecution service said Wednesday it brought the matter to the attention of the RCMP.

"We understand that the investigation was referred by them to the Ontario Provincial Police to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest," said Nathalie Houle, a spokeswoman for the prosecution service.

In addition, also to avoid the appearance of a conflict, federal prosecutors asked the Alberta Prosecution Service to provide any required prosecution-related advice, Houle said.

Norman, a vice-admiral who served as the military's second-in-command, was charged with breach of trust in 2018 following a two-year criminal investigation into the alleged disclosure of classified government information. Fresh evidence led to the charge being stayed last year.

Serious allegations made during pre-trial hearings for Norman helped spark Maynard's decision to conduct a systemic probe of how National Defence handles Access to Information requests.

The evidence concerning a possible offence related to a request about Norman surfaced during the systemic examination, Maynard said.

She also identified several general shortcomings — from inadequate training to cumbersome paper-based processes — that hamper National Defence's ability to answer formal requests from the public.

Overall, she found Defence did not meet its obligations under the Access to Information Act because of dated or inefficient practices.

The access law allows people who pay $5 to request an array of federal files but it has been widely criticized as outdated, clumsy and often poorly administered.

Maynard says Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his deputy minister are now aware of some of the tools and practices needed to support and deliver on their responsibilities.

She says these leaders should champion a new approach and adopt the recommended methods to make necessary changes, saying Canadians expect as much.

Maynard says her probe also shows that all federal institutions must follow sound information-management practices and make smart use of technology to meet their responsibilities under the access law.

"As the government begins to recover from the impact on operations of the pandemic, and looks to how it will work in the future, my findings should have added relevance to institutions across government."