TRUDEAU’S BLIND SPOT

Forget, for a moment, the prime minister’s assertion that he knew nothing about the massive volunteer grant contract proposed for the WE Charity until it was thrust in front of him just before a cabinet meeting. Forget his revelation that he promptly “pushed back” its approval for two weeks to get more information. Forget that his wife, who worked on a podcast with WE, had the ethics commissioner’s earlier blessing. The fact is that Justin Trudeau should not have been involved in awarding a contract to an organization that had paid his mother and brother around $300,000 while it also courted the finance minister and his family.

So why didn’t he recuse himself ? Two explanations loom.

First, unless our prime minister is deliberately seeking to enrich his friends in the midst of a global health emergency, this ethical stumble appears to stem from his view of government. In a Liberal universe, there is no problem, no issue, no crisis, no voter segment with which government should not directly engage. New projects are created; new infrastructure is built. Deficits swell. And this is in normal times. Add COVID-19, and the explosion of government activity has been staggering.

In a few months, for instance, more than 70 emergency programs have been introduced, costing more than $200 billion. Trudeau listed some: “the Canada emergency response benefit; a wage subsidy that has kept businesses going; commercial rent assistance; support for seniors; support for students …” April and May were “a time of extraordinary activity for the government.” His chief of staff, Katie Telford, told a Commons committee that in one meeting alone, there were “15 decision points” to be made on the wage subsidy before it was announced the next day. In short, are we shocked that an overstretched, exhausted, rapidly expanding, we-can-fix-everything government would overlook basic ethical pitfalls? When programs ramp up so quickly, when ministers aren’t getting enough sleep, are lapses a surprise?

The second explanation is less generous. Trudeau said that when he learned of WE’s involvement, he pushed for more due diligence, only approving the contract two weeks later. In other words, he did take time to consider his family’s involvement with WE. Then he went ahead and participated in the contract approval anyway. His failure to recuse himself from the discussion wasn’t a decision made hastily, but thoughtfully. He simply did not (and still does not) see a personal conflict. He saw only “perception issues.”

And that blindness is what is so worrisome for future governance, pandemic or not.