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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's family vacation wasn’t worth the trip as he now faces heavy criticism after a ruling from the Ethics Commissioner's office was released on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister’s holiday to the Bahamas in 2016 was found to have broken several federal ethics rules according to Mary Dawson, ethics commissioner for Canada.
Commissioner Dawson’s full report on the trip to Aga Khan’s private island from Dec. 26, 2016 to Jan. 4, 2017, found it contravened multiple sections under the Conflict of Interest Act.
Dawson said neither the Prime Minister, nor his family, should have accepted the vacation to Bells Cay, and that he failed to arrange his private affairs in a manner that would prevent him from being placed in a conflict of interest.
The Aga Khan is the founder and chair of the board of directors of the Aga Khan Development Network, the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (Foundation) and the Global Centre for Pluralism. He has a long-standing relationship with the Government of Canada, which since 1981 has contributed nearly $330 million to projects supported by the Foundation.
Trudeau did issue an apology following the release of the report, to which he said he will be taking all precautions in the future.
“Today’s report from the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner makes it very clear I should have cleared my family vacation and dealings with the Aga Khan in advance. I’m sorry I didn’t, and in the future, I’ll be clearing all family vacations with the Commissioner’s office,” said Trudeau.
“I’ve always considered the Aga Khan a close family friend - that’s why I didn’t clear this family trip in the first place.”
The inquiry was launched after it was requested on Jan. 8, 2017 by Andrew Scheer, after he alleged that the vacation should be considered a gift that had the ability to influence the duty of the Prime Minister.
I’ve always considered the Aga Khan a close family friend – that’s why I didn’t clear this family trip in the first place. Given the Commissioner’s report, I’ll be taking all precautions in the future. 2/2
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 20, 2017
Trudeau was cleared of some violations, including subsection 14(1) of the Members’ Code, because he did not discuss House of Commons business with the Aga Khan, and no evidence showed that he participated in any debate or vote in the House of Commons related to the Aga Khan or his institutions.
However, Dawson did find him to be in violation of section 11 of the act when he and his family accepted gifts, the use of Aga Khan’s private helicopter, and the use of the island in March and December of 2016.
“The travel was not required in Mr. Trudeau’s official capacity as a public office holder and he did not seek my prior approval. Furthermore, I found that the circumstances were not exceptional for Mr. Trudeau in this case,” Dawson said in regards to the chartered flight.
Justin Trudeau seems to believe that the rules shouldn’t apply to people like him. It’s unfortunate that this issue dragged out for a year, and Trudeau misled Canadians and continually dodged questions about his behaviour. Canadians deserve better than that. pic.twitter.com/oC1BMBuG4T
— Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) December 21, 2017
“Because there was ongoing official business between the Government of Canada and the Aga Khan at the time each invitation was accepted, Mr. Trudeau, as Prime Minister, was in a position to be able to advance some of the matters of interest to the Aga Khan,” ruled Dawson.
“As well, the Foundation was registered to lobby the Office of the Prime Minister at that time. For these reasons, I determined that the vacations accepted by Mr. Trudeau or his family might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence Mr. Trudeau.”
Dawson added that Trudeau did not give preferential treatment, or participate in or make any decisions relating to the Aga Khan.
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