The Prime Minister’s brother, Alexandre Trudeau, himself asked to appear before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa to be able to defend “the reputation” of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which has been the target of various allegations related to an alleged Chinese donation Government.

“I want to testify before the committee that’s looking into this. I’m ready to share everything I know about the foundation. It’s urgent! » she tells Duty the main prospect.

Alexandre Trudeau normally declines all requests for interviews related to politics and has not yet commented publicly on the turmoil the foundation, which bears the name of his father, the former prime minister, is in. Pierre Eliot Trudeau.

However, he agreed to make an exception to that rule after seeing what he sees as “dishonest attacks” on the organization with which he has been heavily involved for the past 20 years. His brother, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, parted ways with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation about 10 years ago.

“If I want to speak to the committee, it is because reputation is at stake. The honor of the scholarship holders is questioned. They don’t need that pressure,” explains Alexandre Trudeau. His message is aimed at both Liberal and opposition MPs, who nonetheless agreed on Monday to bar him from an investigation by a parliamentary committee.

The daily The Globe and the Mail reported in February that two businessmen acting under the authority of the Chinese government made a donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation in an attempt to influence Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. The report was based on intelligence reports disclosed to reporters and dated to 2014.

The duty did not have access to these documents and their interpretation has been questioned by government officials.

Wash the honor of the foundation

” The basis [Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau] did nothing wrong! There was no attempt [encore moins] real interventions. The donors had no bad intentions,” assures Alexandre Trudeau, without wanting to go into detail about the background of the case.

For the rest, the documentary filmmaker and author of a book about China is relying on his possible public statement.

The duty reported in April that the University of Montreal was in fact the prime target of a $1 million donation from two wealthy Chinese businessmen, Zhang Bin and Niu Gensheng, to honor Pierre Elliott Trudeau by funding scholarships.

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation only got involved when it agreed to use the former prime minister’s name in 2016, earning it a share of the $200,000 donation. but eventually waived the final installment of $250,000 because the donation created “discomfort.”

“There is no connection between the Trudeau government and the Trudeau Foundation,” said the Prime Minister’s brother.

He believes the foundation’s continued existence is now threatened by the bad press surrounding the affair. The turmoil also led to the departure of the board in April, including CEO Pascale Fournier. Regarding the climate within the organization, Mr. Trudeau speaks of a “management crisis”, which he attributes to “misjudgments and serious misconduct” in the recent response to articles about him.

Alexandre Trudeau himself left the board about three years ago, although he remains well informed about the organization’s activities. “I have full confidence in the administrators who are there now,” he concludes.

This week, the board of directors of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation tried unsuccessfully to obtain an audit from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada that would shed light on the latest allegations.

The committee doesn’t want him right now

On Wednesday, Canada’s Conservative Party again called for Alexandre Trudeau to be summoned to appear before an inquiry led by a parliamentary committee. ” His brother [au premier ministre] facilitated a donation from China to the foundation with the motive of influencing the prime minister. […] If he has nothing to hide, will he support a motion to invite Alexandre Trudeau to appear before a parliamentary committee to answer questions? asked Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in the House of Representatives.

“Why do the Conservatives want to continue to spend their time attacking me and my family instead of talking about the budget and the issues Canadians are facing? replied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

However, on Monday, the parliamentary committee investigating the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections voted unanimously to invite witnesses to two sessions, but not elected officials or members of the Trudeau family.

“It was part of act. […] If we had not agreed to abandon the Trudeau family, the Liberals would not have agreed [la motion] and would have hindered it,” reports Nathalie Sinclair Desgagné, MEP for the Bloc Québécois, member of the Standing Committee on Public Finance.

Accompanied by The duty, the Liberal MP who pushed through this compromise, Peter Fragiskatos, explains that the presence of members of the Trudeau family would have led the debates to drift in the direction of “political theatre”, even “farce”. What if the Prime Minister’s brother volunteers? “The committee will consider the application,” he said.

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