The Kielburger brothers say the charity they founded would not have benefited from nearly a billion payment to run a student loan program..And they admitted they only hired the prime minister’s mother to speak on mental health when Justin Trudeau came to power..“WE Charity would only be reimbursed its costs to build and administer the program. To be clear, there was no financial benefit for the charity,” said Craig, who along with his brother Marc, testifying in front of a Senate inquiry Tuesday into the WE scandal..In April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new program called the Canada Student Service Grant that promised to pay to students who volunteer over the summer..Management of what was called $900-million program was outsourced to WE Charity. WE Charity would be paid up to $43 million to run the program..After controversy erupted, the WE organization withdrew from the program..Craig told MPs the amount of money involved was only $543 million. The charity has already received roughly $30 million of that but says it will repay the amount in full. They added the charity would be out $5 million they had already spent on the program..The brothers denied they stood to personally benefit from the deal..Under tense questioning from Tory Pierre Poilievre, Marc denied he had spoken to Trudeau’s office about the deal before it was announced..He claims he misspoke after at first claiming a call did take place..It has emerged Margaret Trudeau spoke at approximately 28 WE events and received honoraria amounting to $312,000. Alexandre spoke at eight events and received approximately $32,000, while Sophie Gregoire Trudeau had more than $1,400 in expenses paid for..Marc admitted that Margaret Trudeau had not been hired by WE until Justin came to power in 2015..Saying Margaret would help “increase brand recognition” Craig added “she’s more than someone’s mother, someone’s wife.”.The brothers admitted Tuesday Margaret had been paid $167,944 in expenses..Poilievre asked for an exact amount the group has paid the Trudeaus – with the brothers saying they didn’t know but would provide details after the meeting..NDP MP Peter Julian said he “wasn’t satisfied” with the hearing because questions “were not answered.”. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .In an opening statement, Craig admitted the charity had become “overly complex” and “misunderstood”..He said because of the scandal WE faces “serious challenges that risk the entire organization.”.During testimony Craig told MPs the scandal has been “devastating” for the charity..Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion has announced that his office is investigating..Alberta’s UCP government has severed ties with the charity as has several businesses including Telus and Virgin Airlines.Just last week, Finance Minister Bill Morneau paid back $41,000 to WE for an exotic family holidays to Kenya and Ecuador..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
