Canada's Ethics Watchdog Expands Probe Into Morneau Over WE-Sponsored Expenses - Statement

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2020) Canada's Ethics Commissioner is expanding his investigation into possible conflict of interest violations committed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the decision to award a government contract to the WE Charity, the Office said in a statement.

Several parliamentarians called for an expanded probe into the finance minister after he revealed that he previously reimbursed the WE Charity for travel and accommodation fees in the amount of $69,650, including a $30,830 previously uncovered tab on the day of the testimony.

"Following requests from several parliamentarians, Ethics Commissioner [Mario] Dion expanded the examination into [Morneau] under [the Conflict of Interest Act subsections], which relate to gifts and travel respectively, and has informed him," the office said via Twitter on Wednesday.

Section 11, subsection 1 of the Conflict of Interest Act states that "no public office holder or member of his or her family shall accept any gift or other advantage... that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence the public office holder in the exercise of an official power, duty or function."

Section 12 of the act, says that no public official, or member of his or her family, may accept travel on a non-commercial chartered or private aircraft unless it is requisite to official business or with prior approval of the privacy commissioner.

On Tuesday, WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger told the Standing Committee on Finance that the trips Morneau and his family took to participate in the charity's projects in Kenya and Ecuador in 2017, were intended to be "complimentary."

Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been at the center of controversy after multiple investigative pieces chronicled their close ties to the WE Charity ahead of the government decision to award the charity a $670-million sole-source contract to administer a government-sponsored student volunteer program.

Morneau has apologized for not recusing himself from the decision-making process but highlighted that the decision to award the contract was recommended by the public service.

The ethics probe is the third for Morneau during his five years in office.

A full report will be released once the investigation is complete. Conflict of interest or ethics violation probes take approximately seven months to complete, the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner said.

The opposition has called for additional criminal and lobbying probes into the relationship between the Canadian government and the WE Charity.