Poilievre Questions Trudeau on WE Charity Payments Amid Testimony
Episode Stats
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166.72957
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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.