EDITORIAL: What's a Trudeau apology worth?
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Canadians can take Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s apology for his role in the WE Charity controversy for what it’s worth, but what’s more interesting is what he revealed during it.
First, he knew his mother and brother worked as public speakers and it was “not surprising” to him they were paid by WE, but he didn’t know the details and didn’t ask, as he should have.
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This while he was lobbying inside his own government to award WE a now-cancelled, $912-million government contract with a $20-million administration fee, to pay students $10 an hour, below the minimum wage, for doing volunteer work.
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Second, he was aware his actions might put him in a conflict of interest.
Asked in French if anyone in cabinet or his political organization had raised concerns about giving the contract to WE, given his family’s close connection to it, Trudeau responded: “Well, there was some reflection carried out by myself and others, in terms of the fact that the connections with the family meant that we had to be careful and made sure we did things right.”
So, despite a history of repeatedly violating the Conflict of Interest Act, as determined by two different ethics commissioners in the Aga Khan and SNC-Lavalin affairs, and knowing he was risking a third investigation — now underway — Trudeau went ahead and lobbied for the WE contract in cabinet, where he’s the boss.
Trudeau said he was reassured that public servants had made an “independent” recommendation in favour of WE, which is absurd.
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Surely Trudeau knows his support for giving the sole-sourced contract to WE inside his own government had the potential to influence the views of public servants.
To us, this latest controversy is another example of Trudeau’s poor judgment, and his sense of entitlement that leads him to believe he is not bound by rules of ethical behaviour when it comes to conflicts of interest.
The last time he broke the conflict law — in the SNC-Lavalin scandal — Trudeau refused to apologize because he said he was trying to protect jobs.
The logical conclusion is that Trudeau does not believe he’s bound by the rules of ethical political conduct and is only sorry, if at all, when he’s caught.
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