Trudeau’s casino woes

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under heated — and repeated — questions this week after National Post reported on the Liberals casino connections. On Wednesday, Tom Blackwell reported that Toronto real estate developer Wei Wei, alleged to be the mastermind behind a high-end illegal casino, had met at least twice in 2016 with Trudeau, including at a controversial Liberal fundraiser in the home of another wealthy entrepreneur. Last week, John Ivison reported that Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which runs 26 properties and employs 8,000 people across Canada, was to receive $200 million under the federal government’s Large Employer Financing Facility. The prime minister was grilled about both at Question Period. This is an edited version of some of the questions and answers.

Wei Wei

“Wei Wei is a loyal and generous Liberal Party of Canada donor. Among other things, he donated $1,200 in 2014 and attended an exclusive cocktail party in 2016 with the prime minister himself, whom he met with at least twice. My question is simple: Does the prime minister know Wei Wei?”

— Alain Therrien (Bloc)

“Mr. Speaker, our federal system has some of the strictest rules governing political donors. The Liberal Party’s rules are even stricter. Our fundraising activities are all public, and we invite journalists to attend. Maybe the other parties should do likewise and open up their fundraising activities to journalists so Canadians can find out who they are getting their money from, rather than do it in secret like the Bloc, the Conservative Party and the other parties.”

— Trudeau

“Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I asked the government about ties between senior Liberals like Joe Peschisolido and Raymond Chan and individuals charged in a gangland shooting with the Chinese Communist Party. Now, we have learned that the architect of a heavily armed, illegal casino operation in Markham has twice had face time with this prime minister and, surprise, he also has ties to the CCP. Canadians deserve to know. Is the prime minister’s proximity to the Chinese Communist Party elites in Canada affecting his ability to protect Canadian interests?”

— Michael Barrett (Con)

“Mr. Speaker, we have always followed all the rules around fundraising and we will continue. We actually went above and beyond that in making sure that all of our fundraisers are done in public spaces, that we invite the media to them and publish a list of people who attended.”

— Trudeau

“A banker who was hoping for a favourable decision from the federal government was able to meet with the prime minister for $1,500. An individual who was running an illegal casino where prostitution was likely taking place was able to meet with the prime minister personally for $1,500. All people have to do is roll out the red carpet and pay the maximum set out in the act to meet with the prime minister personally and make their sales pitch. In 2020, is that really the political fundraising approach the Liberals are proposing?”

— Rheal Fortin (Bloc)

“From the start, the prime minister has been very clear. We are raising funds for the Liberal Party at events where the media is invited. We are being more transparent by releasing the list of those who attended soon after the event.”

— Dominic Leblanc

GATEWAY

“Mr. Speaker, who would bet their own money on Gateway Casinos? Well, it turns out nobody. Of course, the company was just downgraded to junk status and its parent company lost 95 per cent of its value on the stock market before being delisted altogether. In fact, financial experts in Toronto say that the company vastly overvalues its assets, but there is someone who would invest other people’s money in it. The casino just got the jackpot of $200 million from this government. Would the financial genius over there who invested $200 million of our tax dollars in this failing casino firm please stand up?”

— Pierre Poilievre (Con)

“Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives play silly political games, we recognize the extraordinary situation that Canadians are facing. We are a few days away from Thanksgiving and people are worried about whether or not they are going to see their loved ones, how they are going to make it through this pandemic, whether or not we are going to be able to gather for Christmas. As a country and as the government, we remain focused on that.”

— Trudeau

“Mr. Speaker, ‘ you’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, and know when to swindle a naive prime minister of $200 million of other people’s money. That is exactly what Gateway Casinos has just done. It cannot get money from anyone. In fact, for 10 years its owner tried to sell the company, but nobody would buy. Why is the prime minister throwing away our money in this jackpot for casino insiders?”

— Poilievre

“Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians across the country are hurting because of this pandemic. We created many different mechanisms to support them, whether it was the Canada emergency response benefit, the wage subsidy or the LEEFF program, which is the large employer enterprise funding. We have ensured that the money is delivered independently to organizations that qualify for it and it is a loan rather than any sort of grant of money. These are things that we have put to make sure that our economy comes roaring back.”

— Trudeau