Trudeau says he pushed back on WE Charity contract when it was first proposed

Prime Minister testifies at finance committee hearing on awarding of student program contract

This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the WE Charity received “no preferential treatment” from him or anyone else in the government and that he pushed back when he first learned on May 8 that the organization had been recommended by the public service to administer a program for students during the pandemic.

The Prime Minister said he was briefed again May 21 and he was assured that the public service had done its due diligence. “Getting young people to serve has been a goal of mine well before I ever got into politics so I deeply regret how this has unfolded,” he said. The Prime Minister’s testimony marks a central moment in a political drama that has plagued his government in recent weeks and resulted in sliding poll numbers for the Liberals.

The government budgeted $912-million for the student program, but the contribution agreement to administer it with WE allowed for an upper limit of $543.5-million in spending.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

globeandmail /  🏆 5. in CA

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Trudeau Says He ‘Pushed Back’ On WE Charity Deal For Grant ProgramThe prime minister said he “deeply” regrets how the controversy has unfolded.
Read more »

Read Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s opening remarks as he testifies on WE CharityA transcript from Thursday's testimony in front of the finance committee
Read more »

Trudeau testifies about WE Charity controversy: Today’s hearings explainedA Prime Minister facing conflict-of-interest questions will speak to the House finance committee about his family's ties to WE Charity and why he didn't recuse himself from a cabinet decision about them. Check back here for the latest developments
Read more »

'It's highly unethical': Someone paid nearly 200 people to promote positive WE Charity stories on GoogleThe Google manipulation campaign was used to boost the visibility of two positive stories about WE, while burying any potential negative coverage
Read more »