Former CEO of the Trudeau Foundation (TF) Morris Rosenberg testified on Monday that a donation of $200,000 cannot be used to gain influence with the Canadian government. . Trudeau Foundation CEO Morris Rosenberg .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, an MP on the Commons Public Accounts committee pointed out that this amount is 117 times higher than the maximum allowed contribution for federal campaigns in Canada..“Frankly, the idea that $200,000 is going to influence any government, I think is absurd,” said Rosenberg. .“But other people have different views.”.In 2016, the TF received a six-figure donation from donors connected to Chinese state agencies based in Beijing. However, the donation was inaccurately reported as "originating" from a Canadian donor..“Are we talking about the donation? I have a few things to say about that,” testified Rosenberg. .“The donation bought no influence. We never thought a $200,000 donation would influence any government.”.“$200,000 to the Trudeau Foundation on a base endowment of $125 million that was growing was not that big a deal,” said Rosenberg. .“I honestly don’t think $200,000 is very significant in the greater scheme of things.”.“Are there any limits to donations to the Trudeau Foundation?” asked Conservative MP Michael Kram (Regina-Wascana, SK). .“I don’t think we ever got a donation that would have tested that,” replied Rosenberg..“Do you know what the limits are for donating to a politician’s election campaign?” asked MP Kram. .“No, I don’t,” replied Rosenberg..“It’s less than $2,000 in this country,” said Kram. .“I am a bit surprised you could imply $200,000 would not be significant enough to buy influence in the Canadian political system given that when MPs around this table are running for re-election, we cannot accept more than $1,700. It’s troubling that these checks and balances would not be in place for the Trudeau Foundation.”.Current rules and regulations forbid MPs from accepting gifts worth more than $40 under the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, more than $200 under the Conflict of Interest Act and more than $1,700 under the Canada Elections Act..“If someone wants to donate $200,000 to Justin Trudeau’s election campaign and soon finds out the contributions limits are less than $2,000, I think it would be pretty reasonable for someone to go to Google and say, ‘Well, what else can I donate to that has the same last name as the prime minister that could be used to purchase influence?’” Kram told the Public Accounts committee. .“Don’t you think the Trudeau Foundation would come up pretty quickly on a Google search?”.“Honestly, I don’t think so,” replied Rosenberg. .“I really don’t think the $200,000 is either going to buy influence with us for all the reasons I’ve said or influence with the government.”.Alexandre Trudeau, the prime minister's brother who signed the agreement with the Chinese donors, stated that he accepted the gift without questioning the donor’s motives..“I have no reason to believe their motives were not honourable,” Trudeau testified on May 3 at the Commons Ethics committee. .“The idea that there was a set-up here, I just think is patently false.”
