The interim chairman of the foundation wrote to the OAG last week, saying the organization would welcome an investigation by Comptroller Karen Hogan into donations made in 2016 and 2017 totaling $140,000.

The foundation claims that it is an independent charity with no political affiliation.

Last week, its board members and CEO, Pascale Fournier, resigned en bloc over alleged politicization of a donation by Chinese billionaire Zhang Bin and another businessman, Niu Gensheng.

“In these circumstances, the Foundation would like the Auditor General of Canada to conduct an investigation into all aspects of the Foundation’s receipt and processing of these donations,” the Foundation’s interim executive chairman, Edward Johnson, said in a letter last Friday.

“In all cases, an independent verification of donations received by the Foundation is entrusted to an independent law firm and an independent accounting firm,” he added.

A spokesman for the foundation said the organization believes it will be subject to audits by the Auditor General, but Mr.^Me Hogan said the assessment is continuing.

“We are still evaluating the Office of the Auditor General of Canada’s mandate on this matter,” a spokesman said.

When asked if the AG’s office had the authority to investigate private donations, the spokesman added, “That’s part of the assessment.”

The Bloc Québécois has also asked the Auditor General of Canada to carefully investigate the recent revelations about the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

According to the AG office’s website, the AG investigates the activities of federal ministries and agencies, state bodies and the country’s three territorial governments and their agencies.

You can also read what is outside of his role or mandate. This includes requests to review policy decisions or to intervene in disagreements between individuals and governments, banks or companies.

The bigger question of interference

When asked about these controversial donations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted he had not been involved in the foundation’s activities for nearly a decade.

However, Conservative MPs argued that some people wanted to curry favor with the prime minister by donating to the foundation that bears his father’s name. These allegations have led current and former Liberal MPs to accuse Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre of launching partisan attacks.

Poilievre, citing an article by The press that when trying to return the now problematic donation, the organization found that the name on the check did not match the donor’s name.

In a letter last Friday, Mr Poilievre argued that such revelations raise concerns about attempts at foreign interference and suggest that the foundation is “failing to fulfill its legal and fiduciary duties as required by the foundation income tax law “.

Allegations of attempted Chinese-backed foreign interference in the last two federal election campaigns have dogged Trudeau for weeks.

He assured opposition parties that former Governor-General David Johnston, whom he has appointed special rapporteur on the issue, will recommend at the end of May whether or not a public inquiry should be launched on the issue.

But Mr Poilievre dismissed Mr Johnston’s nomination, citing the former dignitary’s involvement with the foundation.

Like the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, the Conservatives are urging Mr. Trudeau to launch a public inquiry now, without waiting for Mr. Johnston’s recommendation.