We Charity executives in a June 29 phone call with federal officials complained a “scandal” over their dealings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s family was “taking (a) life of its own”. An agreement to grant the federal contractor $43.5 million was cancelled after We Charity disclosed payments to Trudeau’s mother and brother: "There will be noise but that’s politics."
A federal agency yesterday fined the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce $1.23 million for miscalculating interest at credit cardholders’ expense. The penalty is the largest since Parliament in 2018 ordered naming and shaming of banks found to breach consumer protection codes: "It is important for consumers to know."
We Charity in an email to the Department of Employment acknowledged it faced sharp cutbacks without federal funding. The group’s executive director sent the email a day after cabinet approved a $43.5 million grant: "Job losses were inevitable."
Cabinet yesterday in a statement said whales and dolphins should “not be displayed” at theme parks and aquaria in Canada. The review of regulations followed an appeal from Attorney General David Lametti for more animal protection laws: "There is much more to do."
Federal employees in internal memos expressed astonishment at the cost of an untendered agreement to have We Charity manage a student aid program. The plan was to pay post-secondary students $10 an hour, but included $500 per hour fees for We Charity lawyers and six-figure payments to project managers: "Bit of a shit show."
Newly-disclosed records contradict testimony by ex-Finance Minister Bill Morneau that he had scant personal contact with a federal contractor, We Charity. The finance department released a series of “Hello Bill” emails from Craig Kielburger, co-founder of the charity: "They are all besties."
We Charity highlighted Trudeau family members’ paid appearances with the group in appealing for a $43.5 million grant, according to documents. Internal memos indicate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office was “weighing in” on the grant proposal weeks before the Prime Minister said he first heard of it: "We have the documents right here."
Suspension of Parliament has delayed disclosure of speaking fees paid to the Prime Minister’s wife and family. Justin Trudeau as a first-term MP personally collected almost $300,000 in talent fees from unidentified sponsors: "That way we could at least limit the damage we’re about to cause."
The Public Health Agency in a 2019 internal memo boasted it was fully prepared for a pandemic after spending millions stocking federal warehouses. The memo was dated last September 16, three months before the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China: "We want to be as ready as possible."
Media executives divvying up federal grants awarded their own companies 100 percent wage subsidies, accounts show. News Media Canada, a publishers’ lobby, yesterday did not comment: 'Helping the press is in the interests of democracy.'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday prorogued the minority Parliament, halting for at least a month ongoing committee investigations of federal contracting, China meddling and We Charity. Trudeau told reporters if Opposition MPs didn’t like it they could force an election: 'We will force a confidence vote.'
Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland (University-Rosedale, Ont.) yesterday took the oath as Parliament’s first woman finance minister. The milestone came thirty-five years after the appointment of the country’s first woman treasurer, Conservative MPP Dr. Bette Stephenson, appointed Ontario finance minister in 1985 by then-Premier Frank Miller. Stephenson died a year ago to the date at 95: "I am Canada's first woman finance minister."
Banks should extend mortgage deferrals to avert an October surprise for cash-strapped borrowers, mortgage brokers told the Commons human resources committee. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimated as many as one in five homeowners will have deferred mortgage payments by Labour Day: "These families will be forced to sell their homes."
The World Health Organization will not allow Canadian MPs to question its officials over dealings with China on Covid-19. The Commons health committee had issued an April 30 summons for Dr. Bruce Aylward, a WHO epidemiologist who repeatedly praised Communist Party measures to contain the coronavirus: 'China is being successful.'
Finance Minister Bill Morneau last night resigned four weeks after disclosing he accepted $41,366 in gifts from a federal contractor, We Charity. “I’ve done my best,” Morneau told reporters. “I apologized for that.”
