Trudeau admits he did not recuse himself from decision to outsource $900 million volunteer grant program to WE Charity

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits that he did not recuse himself from his cabinet’s approval of the outsourcing of a $900 million student volunteer program to WE Charity, to which his family and himself have close ties.

“The recommendation to use WE to get opportunities out for young people was made by the public service. But as a cabinet, we ratify those decisions,” Trudeau admitted on Wednesday.

When asked if he recused himself from those discussions and the final decision, the prime minister responded: “I did not.”

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Since the WE Charity controversy began nearly two weeks ago, Trudeau has argued that the decision to outsource the Canada Student Service Grant to the Toronto-based organization was taken by the public service. But before Wednesday, he had never detailed his own involvement into the decision.

Trudeau’s admission is likely to raise even more questions about a potential conflict of interest, especially considering his deep ties to WE Charity. The Ethics Commissioner confirmed Friday that he was opening an investigation on Trudeau’s handling of this file.

Until 2017, the prime minister regularly attended or hosted the organization’s annual stadium-sized rally for Canadian youth, called “WE Day”.

To this day, his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, hosts a WE podcast; is a “WE ambassador and ally”; and attended a WE Day event in London with her daughter and the prime minister’s mother, Margaret Trudeau, in March.

Asked to explain why he did not recuse himself, Trudeau said he has always been involved in efforts to serve youth in Canada.

“I have long worked on youth issues, both before politics, and since I’ve been in politics as youth critic. Getting young people involved in serving their country, recognizing their desire to build a better Canada, particularly through this time of crisis, is something that I believe in deeply,” Trudeau said.