Trudeau faces the heat over corruption

OTTOWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appeared before parliament to deliver his much-anticipated testimony about his awarding of a lucrative government contract to an organisation that had previously paid members of his family.

Mr Trudeau, the subject of an ethics investigation, was expected to speak before the Finance Commission for about an hour, which is an exceptional undertaking by a Canadian prime minister.

“This entire scandal reeks of corruption at the highest levels of government,” Andrew Scheer, the outgoing leader of the opposition Conservative Party, said.

“This is not the end of the story,” he warned, adding that he expected “clear, direct and simple answers” from the Prime Minister.

Both of the main opposition parties again called on Mr Trudeau (pictured) to resign.

Mr Trudeau apologised for the affair on July 13, saying he made a “mistake” in not recusing himself from discussions about awarding a government student scholarship contract to WE Charity that was initially estimated to be as much as $C990m ($1bn).

Canada’s youth minister has said the program’s final value actually came out to about $C500m.

The charity has given up the program, but the controversy remains. The organisation may have already received more than $C40m, according to some reports.

WE Charity has said it paid Mr Trudeau’s mother and brother nearly $C300,000 for speaking engagements in recent years. Mr Trudeau’s wife was paid $C1500 for an event in 2012, before her husband became Liberal Party leader.