Kielburgers Blame Feds for Student Grant Controversy, Questioned Over Contact With Trudeau’s Top Aide

WE Charity founders accuse committee investigation of being partisan

Marc Kielburger (L) and Craig Kielburger (R), seen on the screen, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee hearing in Ottawa on July 28, 2020. The committee is undertaking a study of WE Charity, the Canada Student Service Grant, and government spending. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

In a testy appearance at the parliamentary ethics committee on March 15, WE Charity’s founders accused MPs of holding a political trial and blamed the federal government for the scandal that erupted over the deal to run the student volunteer grant program awarded to the charity last spring.

Meanwhile, new questions emerged about the involvement of one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s senior advisers in the since-cancelled multimillion-dollar Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) program.