WE REDACTIONS RILE TORIES
Liberals accused of coverup
Newly published government documents reveal the frantic “s**t show” that led to the creation and outsourcing of a controversial program to WE Charity, as well as the heavy hand of political operatives throughout the process.
Late Tuesday, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was proroguing Parliament, the government released over 5,000 pages of documents regarding the rise and fall of the $543.5 million contribution agreement with WE to administer the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG), which promised to pay up to $5,000 to eligible students who completed volunteer hours up until October 31.
In one comment that set the tone for much of the discussion about the hastily arranged program, Finance Canada assistant deputy minister Michelle Kovacevic described the CSSG’s creation as a “bit of a s**t show” in an email on April 20, two days before it was formally announced by Trudeau.
WE would eventually pull out of the deal, and the ethics commissioner has since launched two investigations into Trudeau and former finance minister Bill Morneau’s involvement in the outsourcing decision because of their family ties to the Toronto-based organization.
In another email from WE co-founder Craig Kielburger, he thanks Bardish Chagger, the diversity minister, for her suggestion that WE come up with a proposal for a “student service opportunity.” However, Chagger told the National Post she only spoke to Kielburger about “the importance of youth and service,” and never asked WE “to amend or adjust or add any proposal.”
In one email, Kovacevic — who frequently sprinkled her messages with jokes and sarcastic remarks — refers to Morneau’s office and WE staff as “besties.”
Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said the documents show that the program was driven by political staff, rather than “being dreamed up by a bunch of mid-level bureaucrats in a faraway department.”
“Public servants believe that there was a friendship between the finance minister’s office and WE, and they are screaming with extraordinarily unusual language in these memos that they are under deep pressure to recommend this group, which had paid the prime minister’s family,” Poilievre said.
The Conservative MP also accused the Liberals of a “coverup” due to the fact that hundreds of pages of documents are either partially or completely redacted.
When Trudeau prorogued Parliament this week until September 23 it had the effect of shutting down several committees investigating the Liberal government and links to the WE organization.
Michael Barrett, the Conservative ethics critic, accused Trudeau of proroguing Parliament to hide his involvement in the decision to award a multimillion-dollar deal to WE.
“If this was about introducing a speech from the throne, the reset he was looking for, he could have prorogued on Sept. 22 and delivered that speech on the 23rd,” Barrett said Wednesday in Ottawa.
“This is about one thing and one thing only. It’s about hiding from the truth, avoiding accountability. And it’s his architecture of a coverup.”
One of the biggest questions around the WE Charity controversy has been whether Liberal politicians had directed the Canada Student Service Grant towards the charity, rather than the public service coming up with the recommendation. An April 22 email from Craig Kielburger appears to have him saying that it was Chagger who told WE they should put together a proposal for the CSSG. “Hi Minister Chagger, thank you again for your time Friday,” Kielburger writes, referring to an April 17 phone call where they discussed a different social entrepreneurship proposal WE had written.
“Over the weekend our team has also been hard at work to adapt your suggestion of a second stream focused on a summer service opportunity.”
In a statement to the National Post, Chagger denied this interpretation of events. “As the minister responsible for the Canada Service Corps, I spoke about the importance of youth and service; I at no time directed WE Charity to amend or adjust or add any proposal,” she said. “Furthermore, I did not speak about the Canada Student Service Grant, as I was not aware of plans for such a program at that time.”