Liberal MPs on Thursday failed to bury a report recommending tougher conflict of interest laws stemming from the Commons ethics committee’s investigation of the WE Charity matter..By a vote of 6 to 5, the ethics committee rejected a Liberal motion to prevent tabling the WE Charity report in the Commons, found Blacklock’s Reporter..“It’s not to reopen the issue, but rather acknowledge the hard work that was done,” said Conservative MP Damien Kurek..The report was tabled in the Commons June 10, days before Parliament adjourned for its summer recess and a subsequent election campaign that halted all committee work, Kurek said, adding Canadians deserve to see the report. .“I am sort of a little speechless,” replied Liberal MP Greg Fergus, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, calling it “a bit of a game.”.“We are going to go back with this again?” Fergus said. “That’s a waste. It’s a disappointment and I have to say frankly it makes me very angry.”.The reportproposed expanded powers for the Ethics Commissioner and Procurement Ombudsman. It also proposed amendments to give the Commissioner of Lobbying “real powers to investigate, issue fines and impose lobbying bans” and recommended stenographic notes be kept of all meetings between lobbyists and senior public office holders “except in exceptional circumstances.”.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-Finance Minister Bill Morneau approved a $43.5 million grant to WE despite having close financial ties with the charity. .The charity had awarded $481,751 worth of expense-paid trips, gifts and talent fees to Trudeau’s family. WE also hired Morneau’s daughter out of college and hosted the finance minister’s family on $41,366 trips to resorts in Kenya and Ecuador. Morneau abruptly resigned Aug. 17, 2020..“Conservatives want to talk about petty politics, about We Charity,” Trudeau told reporters at the time. “We have appeared in committees for months, answered questions, sent thousands of pages of documents, answered those questions. If they want to keep talking about this rather than focusing on Canadians, that is their choice.”.Liberal MP Bardish Chagger, who personally endorsed the WE Charity grant as minister of Youth, was subsequently dropped from cabinet on Oct. 26. .Rachel Emmanuel is an Ottawa Parliamentary reporter for the Western Standard
