Trudeau Foundation not used for foreign interference, PM's brother tells MPs
CTV
Testifying before a House committee Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's brother Alexandre 'Sacha' Trudeau insisted there has been 'no foreign interference, no possibility of interference, no intention or means of interference at or through the Trudeau Foundation.'
Testifying before a House committee Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's brother Alexandre 'Sacha' Trudeau insisted there has been "no foreign interference, no possibility of interference, no intention or means of interference at or through the Trudeau Foundation."
Speaking about his involvement with a China-linked donation accepted by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, Alexandre Trudeau told MPs the heightened scrutiny around the charitable organization is the result of "significant mistakes" made by the Foundation's past president.
While noting that Canada "has become the target of foreign interference," he was adamant that "no state, and no individual attempted to influence the Canadian government through the Foundation."
A founding member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, Alexandre Trudeau has been involved with the organization for more than two decades. An executive director until 2020, he was on the Foundation's board when it secured a now-scrutinized China-linked donation in 2016.
Testifying for two hours before the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee (ETHI), the prime minister's brother sought to shed light on his involvement with the donation deal.
He also offered to appear before the committee, Alexandre Trudeau said, to offer a defence of the organization's work and clear up the "great distraction" and doubt circulating, in light of what he called "misinformation" and politics around the Foundation.
"For more than two decades, I have given everything I possibly could to the Foundation and its important mission… The scholars, fellows and mentors that I have had the privilege of getting to know personally have all made me very proud to be Canadian," said Alexandre Trudeau.
