WE really need to get rid of this guy

pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
26,543
6,923
113
B.C.
How about bringing issues to people's attention...............possibly one of the most important roles! :)
Great . How much ? Maybe if all the money paid to her and her staff along with all the other poverty pimps we fund was freed up there might be enough to actually combat the problems .
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
547
113
Vernon, B.C.
Great . How much ? Maybe if all the money paid to her and her staff along with all the other poverty pimps we fund was freed up there might be enough to actually combat the problems .
You can't fund any problems before you know what they are and the more you know the better. The higher echelons are often the ones who know the least! ;)
 

pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
26,543
6,923
113
B.C.
You can't fund any problems before you know what they are and the more you know the better. The higher echelons are often the ones who know the least! ;)
Good let’s just find all the problems and continue to ignore them , but hey the child advocate is doing alright Jack .
 
  • Like
Reactions: taxslave

Twin_Moose

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 17, 2017
21,301
5,727
113
Twin Moose Creek



It’s pretty obvious that a combination of a cover-up and rank incompetence is at work here, and if our system had any true accountability both Sajjan and Trudeau would be out of a job.​

With Harjit Sajjan facing immense criticism over what increasingly appears to be an attempt to cover-up allegations of sexual harassment against former Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance, Trudeau has backed Sajjan.

According to testimony from Gary Walbourne, Canada’s former Military Ombudsman, he went to Sajjan with the allegations against Vance, and Sajjan didn’t look at the evidence.

That was three years ago.

No action was taken, aside from notifying the Privy Council Office, which led to nothing further happening. The allegation was only made public recently, a long-time after it was brought to Sajjan’s attention.

Retired Master Corporal Stephanie Raymond has called on Sajjan to resign or be removed from his post due to the handling of the allegations.

In response to all of this, Trudeau disgracefully blamed the Ombudsmen:

“The ombudsperson did not provide sufficient information to the officials in place to be able to follow up on these allegations,” said Trudeau.
Today, Trudeau said he still has confidence in Singh, a sign that Trudeau will be keeping Singh in his post.

Why would he do this?

Because otherwise he would have to acknowledge that both of them should be forced to resign.

As I recently reported, it turns out the PMO was alerted about concerns regarding Vance way back in 2018, yet Trudeau has claimed he only learned the allegations in recent news reports.

This increasingly looks like a cover-up, one that either involves Trudeau, or took place due to Trudeau’s incompetence and lack of command over the government he leads.

If Trudeau were to boot out Sajjan for having heard of allegations and taking no action, then Trudeau would be asked why he took no action despite the PMO being warned three years ago.

So, Trudeau has instead decided to pretend all is well, and pin the blame on the Ombudsmen.

By doing so, Trudeau repeats a pattern we have seen consistently during his time in office:

Those with a strong sense of ethics are punished, and those who serve Trudeau’s interests are rewarded.

Spencer Fernando
 
  • Like
Reactions: taxslave

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,004
113
LILLEY: Investigations into WE police and tax officials is exactly what is needed
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:Mar 07, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 3 minute read • comment bubble44 Comments
Co-founders Craig (left) and Marc Kielburger introduce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau as they appear at the WE Day celebrations in Ottawa in 2015.
Co-founders Craig (left) and Marc Kielburger introduce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau as they appear at the WE Day celebrations in Ottawa in 2015. PHOTO BY ADRIAN WYLD /The Canadian Press
Article content
They built their charity, their wealth and their business by courting the spotlight, celebrity and the company of politicians. Now, Craig and Marc Kielburger are shying away from taking centre stage.

Last week, the Kielburger brothers denied a request to appear before a Commons committee looking into their relationship with the Trudeau government and the now defunct Canada Student Service Grant program that is central to the WE Scandal. Pretty shocking for the Kielburger brothers to tell MPs to go fly a kite but they say it’s because of comments from New Democrat MP Charlie Angus who called for the RCMP and Canada Revenue Agency to investigate the organization.

Here's how automakers have looked at women over the years
Trackerdslogo
“While WE Charity would welcome and cooperate with any potential investigation conducted by these agencies,” WE said in a statement, “no organization should be subject to both an investigation of the same matters by a partisan Parliamentary Committee which wishes to carry out its own substitute investigation.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Actually, WE may feel that way but I’d argue they’re wrong.

The organization is under investigation by MPs for very good reason, they were granted a sole-sourced contract to run a program originally billed as a $912 million way to help students get paid to volunteer. They received the contract without any experience running such a program but after pitching a government that they had grown very close to.

WE was happy to watch their grants and contributions from the government rise from a few hundred thousand dollars to millions once Justin Trudeau was in power. They were happy to pay the PM’s mother and brother hundreds of thousands of dollars to appear at WE events and lend the Trudeau name.

But when MPs want answers, the Kielburger brothers don’t like to give them.

During their four-hour appearance before a Commons committee last summer, Craig and Marc were less than forthright and spent much time obfuscating when asked difficult questions. Now, they’ve been asked back and they are declining by effectively saying that Charlie Angus said mean things about them.

It’s good to know why Angus was calling for investigations by law enforcement.


Angus was responding to the heartbreaking testimony of former WE donor and booster Reed Cowan who had appeared before the committee days earlier. Cowan had become involved with WE after the death of his four-year-old son Wesley, spending countless hours raising money for WE so that schools could be built in Africa as a tribute to his son’s memory.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
During his testimony, Cowan, an American television journalist, described the horror in finding out that the plaque with his son’s name on a school was no longer there and that the school may have been named after various donors at different times. He told MPs it was like his son’s grave had been desecrated.

“I demand that every penny paid to WE and Free the Children by the groups I brought there for what feels like a sham experience be immediately reimbursed,” Cowan said in a video posted online after the committee appearance.

He also called for the RCMP and the Internal Revenue Service to investigate WE Charity. When Angus called for an investigation, he was echoing the call of a grieving father and former donor.

WE is of course denying any wrongdoing, as they have throughout this ordeal but they have denied everything put before them while always keeping the curtain closed to prying eyes.

After watching this ordeal unfold over the last several months, I’d say investigations by police and the taxman on both sides of the border is exactly what’s needed.

Unlike MPs in Ottawa, those aren’t people that Craig and Marc Kielburger can say no to.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,004
113
MPs vote to issue summons for Kielburger brothers to testify at ethics committee
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Mar 08, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 2 minute read • comment bubble38 Comments
Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger speak during "We Day" in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014.
Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger speak during "We Day" in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. PHOTO BY HANNAH YOON /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article content
OTTAWA — Members of the House of Commons ethics committee have unanimously voted to summon WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to testify.

Should the brothers not appear by this Friday to testify for at least three hours, the ethics committee has declared, they may face potential censure by the whole of the House of Commons.


The brothers had been scheduled to appear before the committee on Monday. It was originally meant to be the final day of testimony in the committee’s probe of the charity’s now-cancelled deal with the federal government to manage a student services grant.

But the charity noted in a statement last week that New Democrat MP Charlie Angus has requested that the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency investigate WE’s operations.

“While WE Charity would welcome and co-operate with any potential investigation conducted by these agencies, no organization should be subject to both an investigation of the same matters by a partisan parliamentary committee which wishes to carry out its own substitute investigation,” the statement said.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The charity said it would therefore decline the requests to testify.


Monday’s motion was originally put forward by the Conservatives, and amended by the NDP to set a deadline of Friday.

“This is a direct challenge to the powers of Parliament to investigate spending and issues of insider access that are well within the purview of our committee,” Angus said of the brothers’ refusal to testify.

“And it is well within the constitutional privileges that we have as democratically elected members representing the people of Canada.”

Angus requested the RCMP and CRA investigations after a former donor, U.S. television journalist Reed Cowan, alleged that the plaque on a school he had funded in Kenya had been replaced with a plaque in the name of another donor.

WE said the incident was an unfortunate mistake; Angus called it proof of a “pattern of duplicitous relations with donors.”

Cowan made the allegations during testimonyin Februaryto the Commons ethics committee, which in turn had invited the Kielburger brothers to testify on Monday.

The brothers have already testified for four hours at the Commons finance committee last summer, after controversy over the student-grant program erupted.

That controversy dates back to the height of the Liberal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis when financial aid packages and programs were being spooled up swiftly to help those suddenly forced out of work.

A decision by the Liberals to award WE a contract for one such program, despite the organization’s close ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family, set off howls of protest and allegations of ethical violations.

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion is investigating the involvement of Trudeau and former finance minister Bill Morneau, who also has family ties to WE, in awarding the $43.5-million contract.

Both have apologized for not recusing themselves from the decision.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,004
113
LILLEY: Kielburger brothers to appear before MPs with conditions
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:Mar 09, 2021 • 19 hours ago • 3 minute read • comment bubble38 Comments
Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger speak during WE Day in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014.
Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger speak during WE Day in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. PHOTO BY HANNAH YOON /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article content
Craig and Marc Kielburger have decided to appear before the Commons ethics committee by Friday rather than find out what the or else is. The committee had issued a summons for the founders of WE Charity after the two men refused to appear Monday.

The pair refused to show up after New Democrat MP Charlie Angus said he agreed with a former major donor of the organization who called for police and tax officials in Canada and the United States to investigate WE. The charity said it was unfair to be investigated by police and the tax man at the same time as MPs conduct a probe.


“While WE Charity would welcome and co-operate with any potential investigation conducted by these agencies, no organization should be subject to both an investigation of the same matters by a partisan parliamentary committee which wishes to carry out its own substitute investigation,” WE said in a statement last week.

On Monday, responding to the summons, lawyer William C. McDowell said that they would appear if he could be granted standing to appear with the Kielburgers.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“We recognize that granting standing to counsel is unusual, but not unknown. It is necessary having regard to the extraordinary situation in which Mr. Angus has placed our clients. In our view, there is no reasonable alternative for them,” McDowell said.

McDowell said that complaints made by Angus, and other MPs, to law enforcement and the CRA put his clients in a difficult position. That said, we don’t actually know if the RCMP or CRA are investigating though in my opinion they should be.

More on why in a moment.


The initial refusal of the Kielburger brothers to appear before a Commons committee needed to be tackled head-on. Thankfully that happened Monday.

Speaking for the need to issue a summons, Conservative MP Michael Barrett said the refusal to appear was highly inappropriate.

“Canadians have welcomed this organization into their schools and into their communities to learn, and today the lesson we have from the Kielburgers is that they are above the law,” Barrett said.

Angus said demanding the pair appear was about protecting the constitutional privileges of Parliament.

“This is a direct challenge to the powers of Parliament to investigate spending and issues of insider access that are well within the purview of our committee,” Angus said.

There continue to be questions about the sole-sourced contract offered to WE to administer a $912-million program despite their complete lack of experience, but that is for MPs to look into.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The reason that I agree with high-profile former donors, such as Reed Cowan, in calling for police and the tax departments on both sides of the border to investigate is the allegations of WE selling donors on the idea that they funded specific projects while also telling other donors that they were the ones funding the same initiative.

A report by Bloomberg in late December said that former staff with WE’s operations in Kenya had a running joke, “that donor plaques hanging on buildings should be made of Velcro because they were swapped so frequently.” CBC meanwhile has reported on multiple donor groups being told that they had funded the entirety of a well project in Kenya.

To be fair, there has been no finding that they did anything wrong.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Co-founders Craig (left) and Marc Kielburger introduce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau as they appear at the WE Day celebrations in Ottawa in 2015.
LILLEY: Investigations into WE police and tax officials is exactly what is needed
One year ago Pearson airport was still busy, before everything changed.
LILLEY: We never could have imagined this year 365 days ago
In this multiple-exposed image, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole, left, asks a question and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answers during question period on Nov. 4, 2020.
KINSELLA: Odds increasing for a federal election in June

Donors deserve to know the truth of what was going on with their money. So too does the public that has been underwriting WE’s operations with charitable status, government grants and access to schools across the country.

The Kielburger brothers sought the public’s help and the public spotlight to build their empire, they shouldn’t get to draw the curtains closed and tell the rest of us not to peek now that we have questions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Twin_Moose

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,004
113
Kielburgers’ appearance at House committee up in the air after they make new demands
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Mar 11, 2021 • 33 minutes ago • 3 minute read • comment bubble35 Comments
Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building in Ottawa, July 28, 2020.
Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building in Ottawa, July 28, 2020. PHOTO BY SEAN KILPATRICK /THE CANADIAN PRESS / FILES
Article content
OTTAWA — Marc and Craig Kielburger’s appearance before the federal ethics committee next week is once again in doubt after a fresh spat broke out between the WE Charity co-founders and the MPs who want to grill them about the organization.

The brothers suggested they might not accept a summons to appear at the committee Monday unless a list of conditions are met. The demands come after the pair accepted the summons issued unanimously by committee members earlier this week, which followed the Kielburgers’ initial refusal to testify.


William McDowell, their lawyer, now says that police could draw on information gleaned in the meeting, even though it falls under parliamentary privilege.

“While it may be true, in a limited sense, that ‘Parliamentary privilege ensures that anything said in Parliament cannot be used in any other proceeding,’ you will appreciate that law enforcement agencies and others are free to use the information disclosed in committee hearings,” McDowell wrote in a letter to Conservative committee chair Chris Warkentin.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The letter was posted by a WE Charity Twitter account Wednesday evening.

NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus has asked the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate the Toronto-based organization’s operations.

McDowell is demanding that lawyers be able to appear on camera, make an opening statement and intervene to object to questions put to the Kielburgers during testimony.

The demand comes after the ethics committee agreed to the brothers’ request that their lawyers be present and to push back the hearing to Monday from Friday to give them more prep time.


“To be clear, it is not my intention to provide substantive answers to the questions, but rather to intervene as necessary to protect our clients’ rights,” McDowell said.

Angus said he expects the brothers to testify regardless of whether their latest demands are met, in accordance with parliamentary precedent.

“I’m not really sure what’s behind these theatrics from the Kielburger brothers. The issue is, there is an outstanding legal summons compelling them to testify. That’s an extraordinary step that we’ve had to take in order to get answers,” Angus said in an interview.

“There’s almost no precedent in the history of Parliament for someone refusing a legal summons ⦠and the heads of a Canadian charity doing that would be certainly dramatic.”

In that situation, the case could go to the House of Commons, which could order witnesses to appear. Witnesses who still refuse could be declared guilty of contempt.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“My advice to them is just calm down, take a deep breath, show up and answer the questions and do the right thing,” Angus said.

Both the Commons ethics committee and the procedure and House affairs committee have invited the Kielburger brothers to testify as part of their ongoing scrutiny of a federal agreement to have WE manage a now-cancelled student services grant program, despite the organization’s close ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family.

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion is investigating the involvement of Trudeau and former finance minister Bill Morneau, who also has family ties to WE, in awarding the $43.5-million contract. Both have apologized for not recusing themselves from the decision.

The RCMP declined to confirm whether a probe is underway.

“The RCMP continues to examine this matter carefully with all available information and will take appropriate actions as required,” the police force said in an email.

Guy Giorno, a legal adviser to WE, questioned the notion that parliamentary committees are the appropriate forum for investigating private organizations.

“These things were never actually meant to be used in some kind of a political skirmish with people outside government,” he said in an interview.

“People alleged to have done things are answerable to the law and the legal process and due process, not a bunch of partisan politicians.”

Giorno said the Kielburgers were willing to appear before the ethics committee until Angus tweeted on Feb. 28 that he had written to the national revenue minister, who oversees the Canada Revenue Agency, as well as the RCMP to request an investigation regarding WE’s fundraising practices.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“That changed the stakes for the organization incredibly, because of the risk,” Giorno said. “They could be caught by having proceedings.”

Angus noted that Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in a letter dated July 10 to investigate alleged wrongdoing over the federal contract initially awarded to WE. The Kielburgers testified at committee later that month.

“These are long-standing parliamentary conventions protected by the Constitution going back 170 years: the right to draw witnesses, the right to compel testimony, and the right of parliamentarians to ask questions,” Angus said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Twin_Moose

pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
26,543
6,923
113
B.C.
Brian Lilley, Ezra Levant, Spencer Fernando...boy, it’s truly a disappointment what passes for journalism these days.
Yup it sure is , you can add all other Canadian journalists to that mix . Funny though you only mention right leaning journalists , why is that ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Twin_Moose

Nick Danger

Council Member
Jul 21, 2013
1,798
461
83
Penticton, BC
Yup it sure is , you can add all other Canadian journalists to that mix . Funny though you only mention right leaning journalists , why is that ?
Oh I’m sure there are some of those too, the three I named were all quoted very recently in this thread. Using the term “journalist” in reference to partisan “pamphleteers” is an insult to real journalists, admittedly a rarity these days as scandal and insults sell better than honesty and objectivity.
 

Twin_Moose

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 17, 2017
21,301
5,727
113
Twin Moose Creek
Oh I’m sure there are some of those too, the three I named were all quoted very recently in this thread. Using the term “journalist” in reference to partisan “pamphleteers” is an insult to real journalists, admittedly a rarity these days as scandal and insults sell better than honesty and objectivity.
Which news organization do you find none biased?
 

Nick Danger

Council Member
Jul 21, 2013
1,798
461
83
Penticton, BC
Which news organization do you find none biased?
That’s the big question, isn’t it? For “consumer” consumption the best we can hope for is “least” biased, and even then it’s wise to cultivate sources from both sides of center and look for common threads. Truly honest and objective reporting seems to be the realm of news agencies like AP (or Canadian Press on our side of the border) but they get pretty pricey if you want more than a weekly overview. CTV rates pretty high for honesty and accuracy, probably the best among Canada’s major networks. I like the Globe and Mail, but wouldn’t buy a copy without buying the National Post for comparison.

Opinion columnists, like those above, are comedy relief to me. I have to wonder if they honestly believe in the agenda they push or have they just found that there’s money to be made in giving angry people a target ?
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,004
113
Kielburgers will appear before Commons committee Monday: lawyer
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Mar 11, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 4 minute read • comment bubble44 Comments
Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building in Ottawa, July 28, 2020.
Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building in Ottawa, July 28, 2020. PHOTO BY SEAN KILPATRICK /THE CANADIAN PRESS / FILES
Article content
OTTAWA — Capping an extraordinary exchange of demands and counter-demands, a lawyer for WE Charity’s co-founders agreed late Thursday that Craig and Marc Kielburger will appear Monday before the House of Commons ethics committee.

As long as he can “intervene where necessary to provide advice to our clients,” lawyer William McDowell wrote in a letter to the committee’s chair, Conservative MP Chris Warkentin.


“As you can appreciate, counsel must be permitted to protect clients’ rights in this way rather than to be relegated to a purely ornamental role,” he wrote.

The brothers’ appearance has been in doubt after a fresh spat broke out between the Kielburgers and the MPs who want to grill them about the organization they founded.

The brothers suggested they might not accept a summons to appear at the committee Monday unless a list of conditions were met.

Those demands came after the pair first accepted the summons issued unanimously by committee members earlier this week, which followed the Kielburgers’ initial refusal to testify in response to a gentler invitation.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
In a letter the day before, McDowell wrote that police could draw on information gleaned in the meeting, even though it falls under parliamentary privilege.

“While it may be true, in a limited sense, that ‘Parliamentary privilege ensures that anything said in Parliament cannot be used in any other proceeding,’ you will appreciate that law enforcement agencies and others are free to use the information disclosed in committee hearings,” McDowell wrote to Warkentin in a letter posted by a WE Charity Twitter account Wednesday evening.

NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus has asked the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate the Toronto-based organization’s operations.


McDowell demanded that WE’s lawyers be able to appear on camera in the virtual hearing, make an opening statement and intervene to object to questions put to the Kielburgers during testimony.

The ethics committee had already agreed to the brothers’ request that their lawyers be present and to push back the hearing to Monday from Friday to give them more prep time.

“To be clear, it is not my intention to provide substantive answers to the questions, but rather to intervene as necessary to protect our clients’ rights,” McDowell’s earlier letter said.

“I’m not really sure what’s behind these theatrics from the Kielburger brothers,” Angus said in an interview before their conditional promise to appear landed Thursday evening. “The issue is, there is an outstanding legal summons compelling them to testify. That’s an extraordinary step that we’ve had to take in order to get answers.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“There’s almost no precedent in the history of Parliament for someone refusing a legal summons ⦠and the heads of a Canadian charity doing that would be certainly dramatic.”

In that situation, the case could go to the House of Commons, which could order witnesses to appear. Witnesses who still refuse could be declared guilty of contempt.

“My advice to them is just calm down, take a deep breath, show up and answer the questions and do the right thing,” Angus said.

Both the Commons ethics committee and its procedure and House affairs committee have invited the Kielburger brothers to testify as part of their ongoing scrutiny of a federal agreement to have WE manage a now-cancelled student services grant program, despite the organization’s close ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family.

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion is investigating the involvement of Trudeau and former finance minister Bill Morneau, who also has family ties to WE, in choosing the organization for the task. Both have apologized for not recusing themselves from the decision.

The RCMP declined to confirm whether a probe is underway.

“The RCMP continues to examine this matter carefully with all available information and will take appropriate actions as required,” the police force said in an email.

Guy Giorno, a legal adviser to WE and once chief of staff to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, questioned the notion that parliamentary committees are the appropriate forum for investigating private organizations.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“These things were never actually meant to be used in some kind of a political skirmish with people outside government,” he said in an interview.

“People alleged to have done things are answerable to the law and the legal process and due process, not a bunch of partisan politicians.”

Giorno said the Kielburgers had been willing to appear before the ethics committee until Angus tweeted on Feb. 28 that he had written to the national revenue minister, who oversees the Canada Revenue Agency, as well as the RCMP to request an investigation regarding WE’s fundraising practices.

“That changed the stakes for the organization incredibly, because of the risk,” Giorno said. “They could be caught by having proceedings.”

Angus noted that Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in a letter dated July 10 to investigate alleged wrongdoing over the federal contract initially awarded to WE. The Kielburgers testified at committee later that month.

“These are long-standing parliamentary conventions protected by the Constitution going back 170 years: the right to draw witnesses, the right to compel testimony, and the right of parliamentarians to ask questions,” Angus said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”
 
  • Like
Reactions: Twin_Moose

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,004
113
Kielburgers defend WE Charity, blast committee hearing as political trial
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Publishing date:Mar 15, 2021 • 47 minutes ago • 1 minute read • comment bubbleJoin the conversation
Fans get their sings autographed before the We Day event in Toronto, on Thursday, September 20, 2018.
Fans get their sings autographed before the We Day event in Toronto, on Thursday, September 20, 2018. PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KATSAROV /THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article content
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 as well as the since-cancelled agreement to have it manage a federal student-grant program.


The Kielburgers say they set up various WE operations because of outdated restrictions on how Canadian charities can operate, and that everything they did was in to help poor children abroad.

They also say that they had the best intentions when they agreed to help the federal Liberal government run the multimillion-dollar Canada Student Services Grant program, which has since been cancelled.


The Kielburgers say they have become casualties as opposition parties try to undermine the government by attacking the deal with WE, and are accusing the Liberals of letting WE take the fall for their political decisions.

The two brothers, whose appearance had been in doubt after an extraordinary back and forth with MPs last week over their conditions for responding to the committee’s summons, are scheduled to testify for three hours.