Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (File photo)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus decision to shut down Parliament has been attributed by his opponents to an effort to dodge scrutiny of his governments role in a charity student-grant controversy.
On Tuesday, Trudeau announced that Parliament would be prorogued until Sept. 23. He claimed that the decision was necessary in order for his government to draw up a "plan to rebuild a stronger, more resilient Canada" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the prorogation is apparently more about self-preservation in the wake of a scandal that could cost Trudeau his political career.
Conservative MPs have accused Trudeau of a "coverup," saying he sought to stem parliamentary probes into an ethics controversy engulfing his government.
Several parliamentary committees have been investigating the governments decision to award a contract to run a $690 million student grant program to WE Charity.
The program would offer students volunteer opportunities while they would also be allowed to receive money towards their education.
It recently transpired that the program benefited Trudeaus family after an independent media outlet revealed that the prime ministers mother and brother had received more than $320,000 to appear and speak at events from 2016 to 2020.
According to further investigations, Trudeaus cabinet had approved the program without any tendering, which means the charity was cherrypicked to lead the program.
Meanwhile, a day before the prorogation was announced, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who has accepted paid trips from the organization, and also had a daughter employed at WE, resigned from his seat on Monday.
Now, both Trudeau and Morneau are now being investigated by Canadas independent ethics watchdog over alleged breaches of conflict-of-interest laws, marking the third such investigation involving the prime minister.
During a news conference in Ottawa, finance critic Pierre Poilievre said, "Its clear Justin Trudeau has something to hide."
Poilievre and ethics critic Michael Barrett brandished documents the government released to a committee probing the matter, which were heavily redacted.
"He does not want Canadians to know whats in these documents, and thats why he shut down this parliamentary investigation," Poilievre said.
That amounts to a "coverup," they said at the news conference.
Prorogation is a tried and tested method of delaying and this one, although may have helped slow the parliamentary investigation, after the release of the documents, the countrys federal police have also confirmed they are looking into the affair.
Meanwhile, Andrew Scheer, interim leader of the Conservative Party also accused the prime minister of orchestrating a "coverup."
"Justin Trudeau is walking out on Canadians in the middle of a major health and economic crisis in a disgusting attempt to make Canadians forget about his corruption," said Scheer.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/19888
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