It is easy to criticize the prime minister. If the prime minister’s office just had a few experienced people to advise Mr. Trudeau, he might not get into some of these awkward situations that plague him. The current kerfuffle over payments to his family by a charity to which he wanted to give a large government contract, is a case in point.
The first questions we should be asking is how can a charity accept such a contract? There have been many questions raised about this charity and the Kielburgers who run it. These are questions that should have raised flags in Ottawa. The brothers Kielburger are reputed to be millionaires today. Why?
It has often been said that the simplest ideas can make the most money. It is like starting with a hamburger and creating McDonald’s.
The initial launch in the 1990s of what started as Free the Children and became the We Charity was accompanied by a book purportedly written by younger brother Craig Kielburger. It was accompanied by a very successful publicity effort.
Since then, we have seen the programs for school children that gather them in large arenas and gets them to shout a lot. It is hard to tell when the Kielburgers’ personal propaganda ends and the We Charity takes over. It is this super hero stuff that kids seem to eat up but leaves charity professionals puzzled.
And in all my years of working with charities, I have never paid a guest speaker. Yes, charities do pick up expenses when necessary. I have always found that the best guest speakers are those who understand the value of what you are doing and want to contribute.
I also know how the federal government has struggled over the years, with programs to get Canadian students summer jobs, I can well understand that, at a time like this, the civil servants would like to download the task.
But I really do not know how a charity could switch to managing such huge task without the time to plan and staff-up. This is very much a mystery. It would be worth looking into.
-30-
Copyright 2020 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]