Dean talks about the ongoing "WE" scandal and also discusses the decision by NACI to change the time period between the first and second Pfizer vaccinations. Dean's special guest is Lorraine Simpson who discusses the impact that the ongoing pandemic is having on the travel industry.
By now, most Canadians have heard of the WE Charity Scandal.
Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government, almost got away with awarding nearly a billion-dollar contract to a Liberal insider charity during a pandemic with no debate or oversight.
Parliamentarians discovered however, that Trudeau’s mother, his brother, and his wife, who was also an ambassador for the charity was paid more than $450,000 for giving speeches and attending WE Charity events.
The frequent presence of Justin Trudeau at We events, before and after he became prime minister, along with his family members, was a very strong asset enticement in getting schools to go to WE Day, and corporations and media to support it.
WE also paid money to then finance Minister Bill Morneau and his family. It’s clear that the connections between the Trudeaus and WE Charity ran deep.
WE also paid money to then finance Minister Bill Morneau and his family. It’s clear that the connections between the Trudeaus and WE Charity ran deep.
For their work on the sole sourced contract, WE Charity’s “administrative” fee was to be a minimum of 43 million dollars. So a private enterprise – WE Charity – with intimate access to the Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party, gets chosen over the civil service to hand out millions to Canadian citizens?
This is something that has never been seen before.
It seems that while Canadians were worried about their future in the pandemic, the Liberals were worried about their friends at WE Charity, and giving them nearly a billion dollars to run a youth program. This scandal spiralled so out of control that Bill Morneau resigned and Trudeau prorogued Parliament last year in the hopes of letting the waters settle. Unfortunately for them, the opposite is happening.
Recently the ethics committee brought in the co-founders of WE Charity, Craig and Marc Kielburger, to testify again.
At first, the Kielburgers were not happy about returning to committee. After some back and forth discussions and parliamentary summons, the Kielburgers agreed to come back.
At the meeting, Craig Kielburger got into a heated exchange with Pierre Poilievre, MP for Carleton.
The exchange is worth watching. You can find it on Mr. Poilievre’s Facebook page. Mr. Poilievre asked Craig Kielburger about a questionable LinkedIn conversation with a Senior Advisor at the Prime Minister’s Office, directly linking the efforts of the two parties in shaping the student program. Mr. Kielburger deflected, saying the message from his own LinkedIn account was sent by an Executive Assistant in order to grow his LinkedIn profile.
His answer doesn’t seem credible. There is more being hidden from the public.
The second item for this week’s Hill update is the situation around vaccines.
At the beginning of March, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), announced that the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be delayed from the recommended 21 days to 4 months.
In clinical trials, Pfizer couldn't accurately determine the effectiveness of a single shot because there was no comparative one-dose study done.
Canada is now an outlier in the global vaccination rollout. No other country in the world has delayed second doses up to four months, and there is no evidence yet on the long-term effect it could have on immunity to COVID-19.
NACI says if second doses are stretched to four months, close to 80 per cent of Canadians over 16 could get at least one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine by the end of June.
Is this truly a scientific decision or simply a decision to help Justin Trudeau reach his unrealistic targets.
There has been reporting by the media as to whether or not the Astra Zenica vaccine is safe for those over the age of 65 and in fact several countries have stopped its use completely until further study. In a reversal of its own decision (NACI) is now recommending that the vaccine is safe to be used on people aged 65 or older.
This decision reverses guidelines made earlier this month, which recommended Canadian seniors should not receive the AstraZeneca shot.
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