Poilievre Questions Trudeau on WE Charity Payments Amid Testimony
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
166.72957
Summary
Learn English with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been accused of a conflict of interest involving his family and the Wheat Growers Association, a group he founded with his brother and sister-in-law.
Transcript
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Prime Minister, you twice were found guilty of breaking the Ethics Act. After those two
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convictions, did you decide to read the Act? You've got 14 seconds, Prime Minister.
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Yes, I have read the Act a number of times. Are you aware of Section 21?
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Yes, since I've read the Act, I'm aware of Section 21. What does it say?
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I can pull it up for you, but if you have it in front of you, you'll know. Well, it says,
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a public office holder of which you are one shall recuse himself or herself from any discussion,
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decision, debate, or vote in any matter in which, in respect of which, he or she would be in a
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conflict of interest. Now, what you've admitted today is not just that you were in a conflict of
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interest, but that you consciously recognized in your May Cabinet meeting that such a conflict might
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exist, that it didn't just slide by your desk, that you were consciously aware that there was an
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inappropriate link to your family that would put you in a conflict. Why did you, at that moment,
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not call the Ethics Commissioner and recuse yourself?
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That is simply not true, Mr. Polyef. The issue of advancing issues for one's off, and by the way,
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the Ethics Commissioner is looking into this right now, and I fully trust his judgment on determining
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it, but at the same time, my concern around accusing myself was a question around perceptions,
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because I knew full well that this Canada Summer Students Grant Program was not going to directly
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benefit my mother or my brother. Your 16 seconds are up. Your 16 seconds are up.
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I'm going to ask you again, because nobody believes you when you say you don't know how much money your
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family has got from the wheat group. You've had a month to look into that. You knew you were going
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to testify here. Again, how much money total have your brother, mother, and spouse received from this
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That information has been publicly shared, but I will highlight…
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…in various ways, and is proud of the work that she's done, and I'm proud of her.
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We can get that number for you, if you like. It's been out in the media.
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I don't have it in front of me, and quite frankly…
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You don't know how much your family has received from this organization, which you tried to give a half
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I'm waiting. You haven't done an answer so far. Let's make this the first one.
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…speaker for many good organizations across the country…
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…and she is proud that she doesn't have to rely on a husband or a son to support her,
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because she does her own work, and I'm proud of the work that she does.
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I do not feel that it is my responsibility to peer into the work my mother is doing,
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because I have loved the work she's doing. Point of order to suspend?
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I've come to learn that the chairperson's power has gone out and is no longer part of this meeting.
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Mr. Prime Minister, I suspected that might be a problem. It's very convenient timing for the lights to go out.
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Look, I got a message to the effect that his power has gone out. I have no reason to distrust him.
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Yeah. Well, look, there's no intent in my own private home here in the middle of a pandemic. I don't have a fire alarm.
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Mr. Fraser, the general process is that the Vice Chair assumes the chairing of the meeting. So we'll continue.
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And that would be me. So we'll continue the meeting. And I now give the floor to the member for Carleton.
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Mr. Prime Minister, you have… I'm going to ask you one last time. How much did your family get from this organization? How much?
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Have you read the Conflict of Interest Act, Mr. Prime Minister?
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I'm asking you how much your family got here, don't I?
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The Conflict of Interest Act defines family as spouse and direct dependents.
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Okay. Point of order, you're not going to answer that question.
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So you're not going to answer the question then?
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So you're not going to answer the question about how much your family received?
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Point of order, can I welcome back Wayne Easter, a man we've deeply missed?
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I had things under control for you while you were gone.
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I imagine that, Pierre, it wouldn't be the first time you tried to put my lights out,
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Anyway, you're well into your five minutes, but go with one last question.
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You, Mr. Trudeau, I'm going to conclude by asking you, you claim that you have no knowledge of the
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amount that has been paid in expenses to your spouse. You correctly pointed out that the Act
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defines family as including a spouse. Therefore, you know you're under investigation regarding the Act.
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I'm going to ask you again, how much in total, and I'm looking for a dollar figure here, sir,
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how much did your spouse receive in reimbursed expenses or other benefits from this organization?
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The original question, Mr. Paulyev, was how much was my immediate family…
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My wife has never been paid since I was Prime Minister.
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Mr. Paulyev, could we please have order? We'll allow the Prime Minister to answer the question,
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Sorry, Julie. Mr. Prime Minister, you have about 30 seconds here.
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The Ethics Commissioner has fully cleared my wife to continue her advocacy and her work
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with WE Charity and other organizations in the kind of work that she's been doing all her life.
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She's doing it unpaid for WE. She is not being paid by WE for her advocacy or for her podcasts.