Conservative and Bloc Québécois members of the Commons Public Accounts committee announced Monday they want to review the Trudeau Foundation's (TF) tax returns from the past 10 years.. Canada Revenue AgencyCRA headquarters .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, this is because there's evidence the TF falsely claimed a $140,000 donation from a Chinese donor who is connected to China Central Television..“Canadians are owed a proper explanation,” said Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West, AB). .“Is there political interference with the Canada Revenue Agency’s decision to target some charities but give others a pass or whether the Agency is going off on its own bent and not following the rules?”.McCauley sponsored the motion that compelled the revenue agency to disclose the TF's tax returns for the past decade, including all information on foreign donors and “all documents related to any audit or investigation of the Trudeau Foundation.” .The TF is a registered charity..“I would like to see a clear indication with this specific charity on whether the agency is following the rules or if they are just giving them a pass that regular, everyday Canadians who are not related to powerful elites or businesses or donors in Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal would not get,” said McCauley..Revenue Agency managers testified Thursday they could not confirm if the TF is under audit. The CEO and board resigned on April 10..Evidence shows the TF misrepresented a $140,000 donation as a gift from a Canadian donor when it came from a Beijing firm connected to the Chinese government in 2016..Liberal and New Democrat members on Monday voted six to four to adjourn consideration of McCauley’s request for documents..“What he, in fact, is calling for is incredibly problematic,” said Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos (London North Centre, ON), parliamentary secretary for revenue..“He is putting officials of the Canada Revenue Agency where they would be asked to break privacy provisions of the Income Tax Act,” said Fragiskatos..“That’s not an exaggeration. That’s not being political.”.Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, AB) said the government caucus appeared anxious to conceal TF records..“This is an effort to talk this out to avoid accountability for the Trudeau Foundation regarding foreign interference,” said Genuis..“The supposition that someone would be violating the law by complying with an order to provide information to a parliamentary committee just completely ignores what a parliamentary committee is,” said Genuis..“We’re not just 10 or 11 people sitting around a table. We exercise the authority of Parliament when we order production of documents and we have a moral obligation to use that information responsibly.”
