Justin Trudeau apologized for not withdrawing from discussions on a controversial contract.
Ottawa, Canada:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized on Monday for not withdrawing from discussions on a government contract with a charity that paid his family large sums of money for his appearances.
“I made a mistake by not immediately recusing myself from the discussions, given the history of our family. And I am sincerely sorry,” said Trudeau at a press conference.
His apologies came amid opposition demands for an investigation into a contract worth 900 million Canadian dollars (662 million US dollars) awarded by the government to the youth development and defense organization WE Charity.
The NGO admitted having paid nearly CAN $ 300,000 to Trudeau’s mother, brother and wife for speeches.
Trudeau himself admitted to having participated in negotiations with the charity regarding the contract.
He said he knew his mother Margaret worked for WE as an advocate for mental health issues, but did not know the “details”.
“I did not know the details of how much it was paid for by various organizations, but I should have and I deeply regret it,” he said.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau – whose two daughters worked with the charity, one of whom was a real employee – also apologized for staying close to the contract talks.
“I now realize that I should have to avoid any perception of conflict. I apologize for not doing so,” he tweeted.
“Turn out of control”
WE Charity said it is withdrawing from the federal $ 900 million program, which awards scholarships of up to $ 5,000 to students eligible for volunteer work with non-profit organizations during the coronavirus pandemic.
It had hired more than 450 contract workers, according to the Toronto Star, and is now forced to fire them.
Trudeau said he was “really disappointed with myself,” adding, “I think Canadians will judge what we are trying to do and what I should have done.”
The episode is already under investigation by the country’s ethics watchdog, and marks the third time in as many years that Trudeau has found himself at the center of an ethical firestorm.
The Ethics Commissioner has already released two reports concluding that Trudeau had violated the Conflict of Interest Act: in 2017 for taking a vacation on the private island of Aga Khan, and last year for having attempted to influence the legal proceedings in the SNC-Lavalin case, in which a subsidiary of the engineering company was accused of having paid bribes to obtain contracts in Libya.
The Canadian Opposition Conservative Party said on Sunday that it would ask Trudeau to testify under oath before the House of Commons finance committee about the contract.
Conservative lawmaker Michael Barrett, the party’s ethics critic, said on Monday that Trudeau’s apology was an attempt to prevent the scandal from “getting out of control”.
“We know Justin Trudeau is only sorry when he gets caught and that’s what it was today,” said Barrett.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
