Justin Trudeau Accused Of Covering Up Scandal Through Prorogation Order

Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau is being accused of covering up his charity scandal following his order to prorogue parliament. The prorogation automatically suspends all government business, including the investigation of his scandal with WE Charity.

Justin Trudeau asked governor general Julie Payette to prematurely end the parliamentary session on Tuesday, saying he will resume on Sept. 23 with a speech from the throne and a confidence vote. His order came amid the ongoing investigation into his WE Charity scandal, in which he and newly resigned finance minister Bill Morneau are facing accusations of funneling millions in funds to friends at the charity through a pandemic aid program for students.

Several government leaders have spoken up since the prorogation, accusing Trudeau of using the premature termination of parliament to cover up his ethics scandal and walk away from his duties during this critical time in the pandemic.

The Conservative leader Andrew Scheer described Trudeau as spineless and accused him of “walking out on Canadians in the middle of a major health and economic crisis, in a disgusting attempt to make Canadians forget about his corruption.”

New Democrats leader Jagmeet Singh also questioned the timing of his prorogation order. “Shutting down parliament in the middle of a pandemic and an economic crisis, with a planned sitting next week and committees working hard to get answers and solutions for Canadians is wrong,” he wrote on Twitter.

Despite the criticisms, Trudeau attempted to reverse the public’s perception of his prorogation decision by saying that his government would use the five-week break between the end of parliament and the throne speech to reset the Liberal agenda. The prime minister said his minority government would create a plan that would take the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, since his previous throne speech made no mention of the pandemic.

“With Cerb—Canada’s $2,000-a-month emergency citizen relief benefit—ending 26 September, and with schools returning to class in the coming weeks, the country is at a particularly volatile point of its pandemic recovery,” he said.

In his next throne speech, Trudeau is expected to deliver an ambitious post-pandemic economic recovery plan for Canada and reveal how his government will aid the Canadians who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.