charity

Tuesday March 16, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 16, 2021

Kielburgers accuse MPs of holding political trial during testy committee hearing

September 11, 2020

Craig and Marc Kielburger accused a parliamentary committee on Monday of engaging in a political trial as its members grilled the brothers over WE Charity’s operations, including its cancelled deal to run a federal program for student volunteers.

The heated exchange saw the Kielburgers accuse political parties of trying to score points at the expense of children around the world — even as they faced pointed questions from members of the House of Commons ethics committee about their own activities.

Marc Kielburger set the tone by forcefully defending the various WE operations set up over the years — a mix of philanthropic and for-profit entities that he suggested were established in response to outdated restrictions on how Canadian charities can operate.

Friday July 31, 2020

“Let us be clear — this hearing is a trial and a public one at that,” Marc Kielburger said during his opening statement to the committee. “Without recognizing our right to present our own evidence, this committee is trying WE Charity in the court of public opinion and forcing testimony.”

He blasted NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus in particular for having asked the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency to look into the organization’s operations, and then publicly posting those requests on social media.

He also took aim at the Conservatives and the Liberal government, which he accused of hiding “behind a children’s charity by letting it take the fall for their political decisions — and the opposition allowed them.”

Throughout the meeting, MPs questioned how the Liberal government and WE agreed to put the charity in charge of a multimillion-dollar program designed to cover the education costs of students who volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also asked questions about the state of WE today.

The brothers were asked to add up the fees they’ve paid to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his family to speak at different WE events over the years, and to respond to allegations that WE engaged in questionable lobbying and fundraising activities

Ethics commissioner Mario Dion is now investigating Trudeau and Morneau for a potential conflict of interest. Both have apologized for not having recused themselves from cabinet discussions of the WE contract.

“We didn’t advise the prime minister and Mr. Morneau not to recuse themselves,” Marc Kielburger said, arguing that WE was not responsible for political choices.

“We never prorogued Parliament. We were not involved in the decision to filibuster this committee last fall. This is a political scandal for the government, not for WE Charity.”

Liberal MP Francesco Sorbara in turn accused the Kielburgers of not taking responsibility for their own actions. “You want to throw blame on everyone else and not take responsibility for things that have happened within your control,” he said. (Continued: CBC)

Sketch of three rich kids with a lot of rich adult defenders

 

Thursday December 17, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 17, 2020

A COVID Christmas can still be a giving time

Christmas is traditionally the biggest time for giving in Canada, but in this pandemic year that almost certainly won’t be the case.

December 8, 2018

Burdened by COVID-19-related financial stresses, fewer Canadians will be donating to charities this year, and many of those who do will offer less. At the same time, the pandemic has piled new responsibilities on top of the already burdensome workloads of many of the country’s charities that do everything from supporting the homeless to funding hospitals and vital medical research.

We’re not trying to make the year more depressing than it’s already been, but for the country’s charities, these conditions have created the perfect storm. And those fortunate Canadians who are still able to give to others should be aware of this.

They should listen to Bruce MacDonald, chief executive of Imagine Canada which works to support other charities across the land.

“The crisis is of a scale that we’ve not seen before,” he says, and his organization’s research backs his warning. No less than 68 per cent of Canadian charities have reported a drop in donations since the pandemic began. That translates into a massive, 30.6-per-cent decline in overall charitable revenues and possible losses of between $4.2 billion and $6.3 billion heading into a new year.

December 23, 2004

Hundreds of charities have already closed in 2020, even as 46 per cent of organizations in the sector told Imagine Canada that demands for their services have risen. Without a quick — and as yet unforeseen — turnaround, more charities will be forced to close while others will lay off staff and cut back the services they provide.

The public may not quickly notice some of these changes, even if they eventually prove profound. While there are close to 90,000 registered charities in the country, most are small, with budgets less $500,000 and are mainly run by volunteers. But the public might be surprised by some of the big-name charities have suffered a major hit.

December 18, 2001

The Globe and Mail recently reported that donations to the Canadian Cancer Society plunged by 70 per cent or $70 million this year while Cystic Fibrosis Canada had to cut 10 of its 69 staff members after what is expected to be a $6-million drop in its revenues.

Givings to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada fell by $13.5 million, just over 20 per cent, while after reducing its own operating costs by 30 per cent, the hard-hit United Way of Calgary is warning the organizations it supports that its funding to them could fall by the same amount.

Yes, the challenge facing the nation’s charities is grim. It’s not about numbers, either; it’s about people and social well-being. But it makes no sense to try to guilt every Canadian into stepping up because so many can’t.

Pandemic Times

Just 51 per cent of Canadians recently surveyed by Imagine Canada said they intend to make charitable donations this holiday season, a steep drop from the 62 per cent who answered in the affirmative in 2014. Thirty-six per cent of those who do plan to give say they will give less and the reason is often the same — the pandemic’s financial fallout.

So where does that leave Canada in this supposed season of giving? Whatever upheaval this year has brought, millions of Canadians have survived COVID-19 unscathed, their incomes and lifestyles untouched by the coronavirus. That’s also a fact.

To them we would say first: Consider the urgent, diverse and pervasive needs all around you. Then, we would simply add: Please remember your means. (Globe & Mail) 

 

Friday September 11, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 11, 2020

WE Charity closing Canadian operations, Kielburgers leaving organization

WE Charity is shuttering its Canadian operations and the group’s founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, will leave the organization entirely, in a dramatic reversal of fortune for the two brothers.

July 30, 2020

The surprise announcement came Wednesday. In a statement, the charity said it would sell its assets to establish an endowment fund for existing international humanitarian programs and to digitize its education resources in Canada.

The statement attributed the decision to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19pandemic and the continued fallout from its cancelled contract with the federal government to administer a student volunteer program. The agreement to administer the Canada Student Service Grant was first announced in June but was cancelled in July amid growing questions about the group’s connections to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s family and his former finance minister.

The controversy has “placed the charity in the middle of political battles and misinformation that a charity is ill-equipped to fight,” the statement said. “As a result, the financial math for the charity’s future is clear.”

July 24, 2020

Rather than preventing further damage, the decision to scuttle the government contract marked only the beginning. In the past two months, the charity’s founders, senior staff and former board chair have all testified before parliamentary committees. The affair has led to ethics investigations into Mr. Trudeau and his ex-colleague Bill Morneau, who resigned in August. It also brought to light questions about the organization’s governance, work environment and unregistered lobbyingof the federal government.

Since winning government in 2015, Mr. Trudeau has regularly attended WE events. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said it had no comment on WE’s plans to close its Canadian operations.

In July, the charity announced that it would indefinitely postpone its WE Day events for students, restructure its programs, clarify the roles of its charitable and for-profit arms and conduct an internal review. Less than two months later, it’s taking much more drastic steps.

The double whammy of the pandemic and political firestorm has led to significant financial pressures and a loss of sponsors, the statement said. It also places blame for a lack of future revenue on the continued controversy in Ottawa, which has an indeterminate length. It adds that continuing to operate would consume savings that are “essential to establishing the endowment fund.” (Globe & Mail) 

 

Thursday July 30, 2020

July 30, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 30, 2020

The Kielburgers boys’ self-described ‘labyrinth’ organizational structure is still murky

July 24, 2020

WE Charity. ME to WE Foundation. ME to WE Social Enterprise. WEllbeing Foundation. Imagine1day. WE 365 LP, and at least two other entities that sound like the prototype numbers for do-gooder androids. There is such a long list of entities in the WE umbrella that the former chair of WE Charity’s board, Michelle Douglas, wasn’t confident enough to say how many.

The brothers clarified that they need to incorporate in every country where they operate. And under Canada Revenue Agency rules, charities can’t operate as businesses in the administration of “social enterprise,” said Craig. So they had to “build a labyrinth to adhere to Canadian laws and regulations.”

Marc later explained the two started the charity when they were children. He said it’s like building a house. “You add a wing, and add a skylight, and add a swimming pool for your kids,” he said. “This wasn’t out of malice.” A global consulting firm, Korn Ferry, has been hired to help streamline the structure.

July 11, 2020

The Kielburgers said the government was fully briefed on the fact they planned to use a separate nonprofit entity, the WE Charity Foundation—which had been set up to help limit liability—as a party to the contribution agreement. (In the agreement, WE agreed to full liability for participants in the program.)

Former board chair Michelle Douglas, in her testimony, described concerns around the executive team’s refusal to provide substantial financial records that would allow the board to fulfill its functions.

“I did not resign as a routine matter or as part of a planned board transition. I resigned because I could not do my job. I could not discharge my governance duties,” she said in an opening statement.

February 18, 2004

She described in March, the executive—including Marc and Craig—had not fulfilled requests for evidence, reports or data that could support their rationale for laying employees off during the pandemic. In a March 25 phone call, she alleged that Craig asked for her resignation. She gave it. Most of the rest of the board left the organization shortly thereafter, although Craig claimed in committee that this could be explained by an existing “renewal” process.

Douglas said she had also raised concerns, in early 2018, about the WE Charity Foundation. “The board was never satisfied that the operation of this foundation was in the best interests of the charity or its various stakeholders,” she said, adding her understanding at the time was that the organization was intended to hold property. In their testimony, the Kielburgers dismissed the real estate claim as an inaccuracy, saying there were “multitudes of purposes” for such an entity.

Although Douglas said nothing in the organization’s operations caused her “deep concern,” she described a climate characteristic of “founder-led” organizations: “We were always striving to get greater insight into the work.” (Maclean’s)



 

Wednesday July 22, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 22, 2020

Ethical questions abound in politics

July 16, 2020

For the third time since he became prime minister in 2015, the behaviour of Justin Trudeau is being investigated by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The investigation involves a proposed non-tendered contract worth $19 million to the WE Charity, which was supposed to operate a new student-volunteer program. Trudeau had participated in the cabinet meeting that approved the contract.

Because both the prime minister and his wife had a close relationship with the charity, the opposition complained to the ethics commissioner that Trudeau was guilty of violating the conflict of interest law. Days later it was revealed that Trudeau’s mother and brother had been paid nearly $300,000 for multiple speaking engagements at WE Charity events. This seems to be a classic case of confusing or intermingling private interests with the public interest, which is the essential nature of a conflict of interest.

The case caused me to reflect on why politicians appear to have such difficulty reasoning and acting ethically. Here are some random thoughts:

July 11, 2020

There is illegal and unethical behaviour in all occupations, but politics seems to involve greater temptations and risks that legal rules and ethical standards will be violated.

Politics involves contention over competing ideas and interests, together with competition to gain power, and these fundamental facts can override respect for ethical norms. Politicians and their advisers take the pragmatic view that if they do not break or bend the rules, they will lose ground to their opponents. They tell themselves that after they win, they will behave in an exemplary ethical manner, but then re-election becomes a strong motivation.

Most politicians enter public life for altruistic reasons of public service. A minority, however, become corrupted by the political process. They develop the view that politics is a game and to the winner go the spoils. Individuals from a famous political family, or long-serving politicians, may develop the view that they are, as a former Liberal cabinet minister declared, “entitled to their entitlements.” Rewarding family and “political friends” is seen as a perk of the job. (Winnipeg Free Press)