WE Charity controversy is just a smear campaign
Re Blinded by privilege, Bill Morneau is painfully out of touch with Canadians on WE conflicts, Scoffield, July 23
Here is what I think stinks: That no good deed goes unpunished.
Heather Scoffield, along with many others, has suggested that Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau is in breach of ethics, not only for failing to reimburse $40,000 in travel expenses (only a small part of the actual cost of the trips to view charitable projects, which were paid for by Morneau, including all airfare), but also because his wife donated about $100,000 to the WE Charity.
So now it is wrong to personally donate money to a charity just because you happen to be married to someone in government?
The suggestion is that in aligning itself with WE Charity, the Liberal government was in a conflict of interest, because it might be seen as what? A socially conscious party? A party that promotes the ideal of youth volunteerism or shows concern with the world’s underclass? What is the big problem here? People who do volunteer work for global charities routinely have their travel expenses paid. Morneau and family travelled to promote and examine some of the projects that WE is funding, because it is an organization that funds and supports many worthwhile global endeavours. He shouldn’t have to pay back the money for such travel, but he did.
The notion that he is “blinded by privilege” suggests that anyone who has personal wealth or “privilege” cannot do worthwhile work to help others.
Would we prefer that our politicians act like the Trumps, who self-promote and do exactly nothing for charitable causes?
I am also wondering what is happening to the many projects around the world that are funded by the WE organization. But who cares, as long as the opposition can smear the Liberals, it doesn’t matter who gets hurt. Fran Bazos, Newmarket