Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized on Monday for making "a mistake" by participating in discussions on a major government contract awarded to a charity that paid family members. "Because of my participation in Unis Charity (WE Charity in English) , I should have withdrawn from the discussions and I did not , " said Justin Trudeau at a press conference. "It was my mistake, I deeply apologize." "I knew that my family, my family members worked with this organization, were involved with this organization but I did not have the details of their remuneration and I should have had these details and I regret", he added.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau has also apologized for not withdrawing from discussions on the contract, when two of his daughters work with the association, including one as an employee. "I realize now that I should have done it in order to avoid any perception of conflict," he wrote on Twitter.
The source of this turmoil was the awarding of the public contract without tenders to the United charity for the management of a student bursary program of nearly one billion Canadian dollars. The contract has since been withdrawn from the organization, but controversy has rebounded when Unis admitted, after saying the opposite, that he paid nearly $ 300,000 (189,000 euros) to Justin Trudeau's mother and brother for speaking engagements. these last years. Justin Trudeau's wife is said to have received $ 1,500 (about 1,000 euros) for an event in 2012, before Justin Trudeau became leader of the Liberal party.
The Conservative opposition on Friday called for a police investigation into the case, which is the subject of an investigation by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, an independent officer of parliament. Conservative Ethics Critic Michael Barrett said Justin Trudeau's apology was an attempt to keep the matter from "getting out of hand . " "We know Justin Trudeau is only sorry when he gets caught and that's the reason for the apology today," he said, quoted by the CBC channel. Justin Trudeau has already been pinned twice since 2017 by the Ethics Commissioner for breaking the conflict of interest law. The Conservative Party also wants to force Justin Trudeau to appear before a parliamentary committee to explain the award of this contract.