New motion could relaunch WE scandal study

OTTAWA – After weeks of debates, filibustering and two failed motions, a parliamentary committee may finally be able to study the invoices for paid speeches that Justin Trudeau and his wife did for WE Charity as part of a new study on the WE scandal and a slew of other potential Liberal conflicts of interest.

It’s taken roughly 20 hours of debate since Parliament returned from prorogation in late September, but the federal ethics committee may actually manage to relaunch the study of the WE scandal.

Monday, NDP MP Charlie Angus brought forward a motion to the committee to continue its review of “the safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest in federal government expenditures.”

The study would focus on the highly controversial and now-defunct deal between the $543.5-million deal between the Trudeau government and WE Charity to administer a student volunteer grant program. The committee was already engaged in a similar study before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued parliament in August.

The motion also ensures the committee will study:

• The dealings between Rob Silver, husband to the prime minister’s chief of staff, his employer and cabinet. In August, Vice and Postmedia reported that Silver had pressured the government to make changes to its pandemic wage subsidy program so that his employer would be eligible.

• The government’s handling of a $237-million ventilator contract that involves Baylis Medical Company, owned by former Liberal MP Frank Baylis.

• The government’s relationship with controversial data mining giant Palantir Canada and its president, David MacNaughton. He is Canada’s former ambassador to the U.S. and a close contact of Trudeau’s.

• How the Trudeau Liberals may have used partisan resources during the allegedly non-partisan federal judge appointment process, thus possibly violating nominees’ privacy rights.

As it stood, the motion seemed to have the support of all three opposition parties, a necessary condition to it passing a vote.

But the Liberals quickly took offence to part of the motion.