PM’s brother testifying at House ethics committee on China-linked donation to Trudeau Foundation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s brother Alexandre ‘Sasha’ Trudeau is testifying before a House committee about his involvement with a China-linked donation accepted by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

Alexandre Trudeau remains a founding member of the Trudeau Foundation, and was on the board of directors in 2016 when it received the recently-scrutinized donation.

Set to testify for two hours starting at 4:30 p.m. ET at the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee (ETHI) the prime minister’s brother is expected tell MPs more about why he negotiated and inked the deal, which is being questioned amid recent heightened concerns around past attempts by Beijing to interfere in Canadian affairs.

Over the last few months, attention has been put on the Trudeau Foundation over past members’ ties to the current government, in light of reporting by The Globe and Mail stating the foundation had several years ago accepted a $200,000 donation from a Chinese businessman with ties to the Chinese government in hopes of exerting influence.

After initially indicating it had refunded “all amounts received” because of the potential China connection—what ended up being $140,000 provided in two $70,000 cheques—it was revealed by La Presse that the Foundation had issues returning the funds, which generated turmoil within the organization.

The Foundation’s entire board of directors and president and CEO resigned in mid-April, citing “politicization” of the self-described independent, non-partisan scholarship organization. 

Shortly after the mass exodus, the Foundation announced it would be launching an independent review of the donation, while stating that it had issued a reimbursement cheque in the name of the donor who made the initial two payments “and to which CRA charitable receipts were issued.”

In the weeks since, there’s been media reporting, and testimony provided to the MPs on ETHI, that has shed more light on the matter.

The ETHI committee’s study on foreign interference began in March, building on work underway at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, given the heightened attention and concern in Parliament over the threat foreign interference from China is posing to Canadian institutions and elections.

On Tuesday, Former Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation CEO and long-time public servant Morris Rosenberg testified at ETHI, telling MPs that while the donations did not raise any red flags at the time perhaps the foundation was “naïve” to think that by dealing with people who were linked to the Chinese government, they would have “soft power influence on them.”

While the prime minister has repeatedly made great efforts to distance himself from the work of the Trudeau Foundation—noting he has had no involvement with the foundation that bears his father’s name in the last decade— it’s expected that opposition MPs will ask this afternoon whether it’s a topic the brothers have discussed.

“The dictatorship in Beijing gave $140,000 to the Trudeau Foundation… The purpose of his donation was to influence Justin Trudeau. Sasha Trudeau signed on the dotted line, negotiated and recruited this donation,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said to reporters on Parliament Hill ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. “We want to know more about how this foreign dictatorship is influencing Trudeau and his family with money. That’s why he has to testify.”

Asked during a media availability in New York last week about his brother agreeing to testify, the prime minister said that he “loves” his brother but the two men are doing their own things.

“It is no secret to anyone that my brother has been deeply involved in the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation for many years, and he will answer questions as they are asked of him,” Trudeau said.

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk