WE Charity

The federal Conservatives want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to testify before a parliamentary committee about his government's controversial decision to enlist WE Charity to administer a $900-million student volunteer program.

The WE organization has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees to members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's family, it acknowledged on Thursday, July 9, 2020, as organizations that need volunteers awaited word of the future of a $900-million program WE was to run.

The federal website advertising volunteer positions for students hoping to earn money for their educations through a $900-million government aid program contains hundreds of positions that do not actually exist.

The federal Conservatives have asked Canada's procurement watchdog to review the circumstances around several sole-sourced contracts between the Liberal government and WE Charity, including its administration of a $900-million federal program for students.

One of the co-founders of WE Charity says he "misspoke" when he told youth leaders that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's staff reached out in April to see if the organization would administer what became a $900-million federal student-aid program.

The federal Conservatives are calling for an investigation into the Liberal government's decision to have an international charity administer a $900-million program designed to help students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Halifax-based charity is expressing confusion and frustration as it looks likely to have to foot the bill for nine students that it says were hired through the federal volunteer program at the centre of the WE affair.