Opposition Conservatives are demanding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testify before the House of Commons finance committee as it prepares to study how much the government spent in awarding a now-cancelled contract to WE Charity.
Opposition Conservatives are demanding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testify before the House of Commons finance committee as it prepares to study how much the government spent in awarding a now-cancelled contract to the WE Charity.
“I will be adding Justin Trudeau’s name to the list of witnesses. I will be calling on him to appear and testify under oath before being sworn in,” Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said during a news conference on Sunday. “Normally, prime ministers don’t appear before parliamentary committees, but these are not normal times.”
Poilievre successfully passed a motion on Tuesday calling on the committee to hold four meetings this month to examine the matter.
The Liberal government is under fire for its decision to award a $19.5 million sole-sourced contract to WE Charity, a partnership that would have seen the organization administer more than $900 million for student work this summer under the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG).
Poilievre said Sunday that he would also be adding Finance Minister Bill Morneau to the witness list, given that both he and Trudeau have ties to the WE organization and did not recuse themselves from cabinet discussions about the contract.
“The prime minister can agree voluntarily to show up and attend and respect the invitation of a parliamentary committee,” Poilievre said. “Or, Parliament can compel him to appear — something that would take longer but could be done and should be done.”
The finance critic said he would have “news in the days ahead” about whether his party would also ask WE co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to testify.
Opposition MPs continue to exert pressure
Poilievre’s motion previously call