The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is shocked by the wholesale resignation of the members of its Board and of President and CEO Pascale Fournier, who served for five years.
In 2016, the charity received $200,000 from Zhang Bin, a political adviser to the Chinese government, and Niu Gensheng, a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. When this matter became known a few weeks ago, the foundation announced that it would refund the donation.
THE globe and mail claimed he was linked to a Chinese government conspiracy to influence Justin Trudeau after becoming leader of the Liberal Party (PLC).
In a statement released on Tuesday, the foundation said the political climate surrounding this donation has put a lot of pressure on management and the volunteer board, as well as on their staff, in recent weeks.
The press release adds that the circumstances created by the politicization of the foundation, created in 2001, made it impossible to maintain the status quo, leading to the resignation of the board of directors and Pascale Fournier.
Three directors will stay on temporarily to allow the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation to continue fulfilling its obligations while awaiting the renewal of the Board.
Last month Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had had no formal or informal connection with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation since shortly after his election.
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