The Toronto-based nonprofit organization WE Charity is involved in a scandal currently under investigation by Canada’s Ethics Commissioner over non-profit group’s role in a $912 million student volunteer program sponsored by the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
WE Charity is moving to “wind down” operations in Canada and sell its assets in the country to “establish an endowment fund to sustain the organisation’s existing international humanitarian programs”, the charity announced in a press release on Wednesday.
The group said that it is also planning to “digitize” its educational resources in Canada “for long-term access”.
The move came as WE Charity became involved in an ongoing scandal over its role in a $912 million student volunteer program funded by the administration of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the wake of which the nation’s Finance Minister resigned.
In the release, WE said that it was prompted to liquidate its operations in Canada because the nonprofit organisation is facing financial difficulties as a result of a decline in donations amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
WE Charity pointed out that the Canada Student Service Grant scandal put the organisation “in the middle of political battles and misinformation” that it is “ill-equipped to fight”.
Craig Kielburger, co-founder of the WE charity, said in a statement that the charity is moving to sell its assets in Canada as it will not be able to “sustain” global projects such as the organisation’s hospital, college and agricultural learning centre “that meet critical needs of children and families” for the long-term.
Earlier this month, WE Charity repaid the Canadian government $30 million rewarded to the organisation to manage the $900 million summer student volunteer grant program in the wake of the CSSG scandal, which is still being investigated by Canada’s Ethics Commissioner Office.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who stepped down in mid-August, are subject to a conflict of interest investigation by the Ethics Commissioner for their alleged role in a scandal involving WE Charity, as both have family ties with the organisation.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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