July 10, 2020

Ottawa, ON – Michael Barrett, Conservative Shadow Minister for Ethics, issued the following statement calling for a criminal investigation into Justin Trudeau’s decision to hand almost a billion-dollar contract to a charity that not only had close ties to the Liberal Party, but which paid his family almost $300,000:

“Not only did Justin Trudeau not recuse himself from the decision to hand almost a billion dollars to WE Charity, we know now that the organization paid his family almost $300,000. It is clear that a criminal investigation is warranted. As such, Conservatives will be writing to the RCMP to encourage them pursue this case.

“The Trudeau Liberals cannot hide from this scandal. Every single Cabinet Minister must answer for their part in approving this massive contract. Did they know that the Prime Minister’s family had a financial relationship with WE Charity? Would that have changed their position on awarding the organization a sole-sourced contract? Do Ministers or their family members have financial relationships with WE Charity? Canadians deserve answers.

“Parliament must immediately be recalled so that Opposition parties can ask questions and get to the bottom of this. The Finance Committee and the Government Operations Committee must accelerate their investigations. The Ethics Committee must immediately be reconvened to hear witness testimony. The Trudeau government must immediately hand over all of the documents related to this contract. The Ethics Commissioner must accelerate his investigation. The Auditor General and the Procurement Ombudsman must investigate. No stone can be left unturned.

“Justin Trudeau has already been found guilty of accepting a paid vacation on a luxury island. He was found guilty for his involvement in the SNC-Lavalin Corruption Scandal. Now, he is under investigation for the third time in three years. As they say in baseball, three strikes and you’re out.

“Every single Liberal Member of Parliament needs to look themselves in the mirror and decide if they are comfortable with Justin Trudeau being the leader of their party given his scandal-plagued track record.

“Conservatives will continue to hold the Prime Minister and his government accountable. We will not rest until Canadians have answers.”