Based on what we now know, it’s obvious Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put himself into a conflict of interest in the WE Charity controversy in the common sense meaning of that term.
Whether he violated the Conflict of Interest Act, which he’s already done twice in the five years he’s been prime minister, is up to Conflict of Interest Commissioner Mario Dion to determine.
But even if Dion rules against Trudeau, who denies he was in a conflict of interest, nothing’s going to happen to him other than facing yet another political embarrassment.
The Conflict of Interest Act isn’t part of the Criminal Code. It has no criminal sanctions.
Its maximum fine is $500, which doesn’t apply in many cases. It doesn’t require politicians found to have violated it to resign.
But as for Trudeau’s role in awarding a $500-million, untendered contract to the WE Charity to run the Canada Student Service Grant program, it’s perfectly reasonable to conclude Trudeau put himself into a conflict of interest in the WE affair in the common understanding of that term.
The Liberals defend Trudeau by arguing there’s no “smoking gun”.
That is, no recorded phone conversations, emails or memos, no admission by a cabinet minister or public servant, that Trudeau instructed him or her to do something on the WE file proving Trudeau committed a conflict of interest.
But none of that is required to conclude Trudeau was in a conflict of interest in the WE Charity controversy as that term is widely understood to mean.
Trudeau was in a conflict of interest because at every stage of the development of the now-cancelled WE contract, the public servants who drafted it and the cabinet ministers who, led by Trudeau, approved it, were aware of Trudeau’s relationship with WE and its co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger.
Not of the financial relationships of his family members to the charity — that came out later.
But rather of Trudeau’s public support for WE by appearing at its events.
By publicly speaking in support of it along with his wife, Sophie Gregoire.
By publicly describing WE co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger as friends (which he bizarrely denied in his testimony) and by the public displays of affection between the Trudeaus and the Kielburgers.
Given that, it’s irrelevant that Trudeau wasn’t paid by WE, just as it’s irrelevant there’s no evidence Trudeau spoke with anyone from WE before the contract was awarded.
What is relevant is that everyone in Trudeau’s government who handled, reviewed and approved the WE contract from start to finish knew of the relationship between Trudeau and WE and would logically conclude that approving it would please the prime minister.
The idea this knowledge didn’t affect the approval process defies belief.
It’s why Trudeau had a particular obligation in this case to completely divorce himself from the approval process.
There was nothing wrong with Trudeau being friendly with the Kielburgers or publicly supporting WE.
But there was everything wrong with Trudeau actively participating in the political process by which WE received an untendered contract, topped off by his participation in the final cabinet meeting which approved it.
This despite his own concern, as he testified, that Canadians might question that approval given his family’s relationship with WE.
In that context, Trudeau’s apology for participating in that final cabinet meeting is irrelevant. He was already in a conflict of interest in the common sense meaning of that term long before that.
CORRECTION:In my Aug. 6 column Another day, another hole in Trudeau’s WE narrative, I incorrectly said WE Charity has no significant presence in Quebec. It has run programs annually in schools for students and educators and held 11 WE Days since 2010. WE confirmed it hired National Public Relations to provide it with extensive support in running the now-cancelled Canada Student Service Grant program in Quebec.
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GOLDSTEIN: Common sense says Trudeau was in a conflict of interest - Ottawa Sun
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