Trudeau cleared in WE Charity scandal but former finance minister broke conflict law, says ethics watchdog
Former finance minister Bill Morneau breached the Conflict of Interest Act by failing to recuse himself from cabinet deliberations on the WE Charity summer student grants contract, but the prime minister did not breach the act, according to an investigation by the federal ethics watchdog.
Social Sharing
Article content
OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not breach the Conflict of Interest Act over failing to recuse himself from a cabinet decision to have WE Charity operate a since-cancelled federal student-volunteer program, Canada’s ethics watchdog said Thursday.
In a separate report, federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion found that former finance minister Bill Morneau did violate the rules and should have recused himself.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Trudeau didn t violate conflict rules over WE Charity: Ethics watchdog Back to video
He says Morneau “gave WE preferential treatment by permitting his ministerial staff to disproportionately assist it when it sought federal funding.”
Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Justin Trudeau has been cleared by the ethics commissioner who was asked to review whether Canada’s prime minister had been in a conflict of interest because of his involvement in funding of the WE charity.
The WE charity, which was founded by Marc and Craig Kielburger, was awarded funding for its Social Entrepreneurship program and chosen to be the administrator of the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) in the spring of 2020.
Trudeau’s role in making those decisions raised concerns with two MPs Michael Barrett, MP for Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and Charlie Angus, MP for Timmins–James Bay. They brought their concerns about conflicts and preferential treatment to Dion.