The controversy arose when it was revealed that the WE charity had previously paid close family of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appear at its events,[1][2] despite making claims to the contrary.
[15][16] Dion found that on 22 May 2020 Trudeau agreed to their recommendation following a briefing on the previous day in which they conveyed their determination that WE was the only existing organization capable of managing the nationwide program upon short notice.
[18][19] In the ruling, Dion stated: "The examination found the relationship between Mr. Morneau and WE included an unusually high degree of involvement between their representatives and afforded WE unfettered access to the Office of the Minister of Finance, which amounted to preferential treatment.
[20] Dion added that "this unfettered access to the Office of the Minister of Finance was based on the identity of WE’s representative, Mr. Craig Kielburger", who was both a constituent and close friend of Bill Morneau.
Rosen examined allegations of impropriety surrounding the Canadian Student Service Grant program and determined them to be unfounded, writing that "several seemed launched to support attacks on other politicians" and that "WE became "collateral damage" in a battle for political power.
On April 9, 2020, prime minister Justin Trudeau announced several measures intended to supplement existing programs supporting Canadian business and youths during the COVID 19 pandemic.
"[27] The program, set to run through October 31, 2020, would pay eligible post-secondary students who could’t find summer jobs up to $5,000 for volunteer work related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre, Dan Albas and Raquel Dancho demanded an official investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Trudeau government’s decision to select WE Charity to administer the program, a call echoed by Duff Conacher’s Democracy Watch website.
The initial impetus which led to the formation of the CSSG stemmed directly from a conversation between Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau; both of whom also formally apologized for not recusing themselves from the decision-making process on July 13, 2020.
"[47] In addition to this, deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs and youth Christiane Fox stated: "I understand WE has been in touch with some of you (or your teams) on a proposal they have for social innovation, picking up from discussions they had with us pre-Covid.
"[47] Finally, the charity's revised proposal for administering the grant program, which was ultimately accepted by the government for the CSSG, included photos of the organization's "celebrity ambassadors" — among them, the prime minister's mother and wife.
[58][59] The previous month, Conservative MPs had asked federal Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger to determine whether WE Charity had violated the act by not registering as a lobbyist during its consultations with the civil service about the CSSG program.
[59] On May 29, 2020, WE Charity contracted Quebec-based public relations firm National to help implement the CSSG program in Quebec and in other Francophone communities across the country, creating French-language content and reaching out to non-profit and student organizations.
Comparing the situation to the early 2000s sponsorship scandal under the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, Fortin called for Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau to resign.
[63] New Democrat MP Charlie Angus compared the situation to the 2008 recession and warned that the CSSG program threatened to institutionalize the already precarious nature of the gig economy, which had been devastated by the COVID 19 pandemic.
Lori Turnbull, director of the school of public administration at Dalhousie University, called WE Charity a well-respected organization but said that the listings might be construed as a form of profit, while Conservative MP Dan Albas said that they posed a potential conflict of interest.
[67] In his testimony to the Standing Committee on Finance on July 28, 2020, Marc Kielburger said: "Sir, yes, we're happy to provide that information in terms of especially the reimbursement of travel expenses that was specifically requested.
[78] Supporters of the prorogation suggested the scandal had no impact on the decision,[79] and pointed to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as necessitating a cessation in parliamentary debate while the government reset its policy in light of the unprecedented events.
[94] NDP Member of Parliament Charlie Angus would note that other executives from WE Charity such as Victor Li, the CFO, had also recently refused to voluntarily testify before the House Ethics Committee and had to be ordered to appear on February 19, 2021.
In addition to this, deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs and youth Christiane Fox wrote "I understand WE has been in touch with some of you (or your teams) on a proposal they have for social innovation, picking up from discussions they had with us pre-Covid.
[25][44] On June 12, 2020, Marc Kielburger was recorded in a zoom call with youth leaders stating that the Prime Minister's Office had contacted WE Charity directly earlier in April to discuss the administration of the program.
[111] Opposition parties have called for a variety of actions including the release of documents related to the charity and for high-ranking Liberals to appear before Parliamentary committees; the Conservatives asked for an investigation by the RCMP.
[118] Wernick further explained that she made her recommendation because the public service was overburdened with responsibilities pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that while other charities were consulted and considered, the program had to be started quickly, and an open bidding process would have taken months.
[118] On July 21, 2020, Privy Council Clerk Ian Shugart backed up Wernick's statements supporting the Prime Minister's assertions, adding further that there was "no evidence" Trudeau had contact with WE Charity prior to the awarding of the contract,[119] and that the public service and cabinet did not flag any potential conflicts of interest with the program.
[123] Additional documents supported the government's claims that the civil service had evaluated several other nonprofits, including Colleges and Institutes Canada, the United Way and Canadian Red Cross, before recommending WE Charity.
[51] Asked whether she concurred with the government's assertions that WE Charity was the only organization that could deliver the program at the intended scale and capacity, Douglas said that she could not speculate on that prospect because she had resigned months before the contract was awarded.
[131] He again apologized for not recusing himself from cabinet discussions but reiterated that there was "absolutely no preferential treatment," nor direction or influence, from him or his office in selecting WE Charity to administer the Canada Student Service Grant.
As part of this agreement, WE Charity was also allowed to retroactively file its lobbying activities which showed it had engaged with numerous government departments 43 times since the beginning of 2020, with more than half of the communications occurring in or after April.
[141] Conservative finance critic, Pierre Poilievre, tweeted that opposition members were demanding access to thousands of pages of documents concerning the controversy before Parliament is prorogued.
"[70] On August 19, 2020, the Canadian Press reported that documents released by the government show that federal public servants recommended the student service grant program be administered by WE Charity.