Craig & Marc Kielburger will testify at a Commons committee tomorrow. It's a rare opportunity to ask them Qs. They've never accepted our intvu requests or answered us directly & I'm unaware of either of them ever agreeing to an accountability intvu from another news org. (cont'd)
Still, I worry that the time will be squandered with partisan speechifying & an over-emphasis on the youth volunteer grant. I realize the grant is the focus, but larger questions about WE are clearly important in assessing the gov't's due diligence here, or lack thereof. (cont'd)
Watchdog @CharityCanada has published a good list of questions they would ask the Kielburgers. charityintelligence.ca/research-and-n… I'll add to those. Here's what I would ask the Kielburgers if I had them under oath:
1. Provide a complete account of your interactions with the federal government over the past four months, whether direct or through intermediaries.
2. Provide a list with amounts of all gifts, complimentary trips, payments or jobs given to Canadian elected officials or members of their families over the last 10 years.
3. Why did WE Charity move 11 million dollars to your private company in recent years, and what specifically were the goods and services linked to these transfers (with amounts)?
4. Why did WE's NGO (charity) in Kenya move millions in money and assets to your private company?
5. (For CFO Victor Li, also testifying) please provide evidence that you are certified in accounting in the U.S., the U.K. and China, as claimed on your WE.org profile.
6. How much money from WE Charity was spent on celebrity speaker fees/expenses, fees from defamation lawyers, crisis PR firms & private investigators over the last 5 years?
7. Singer Jully Black and NHL star Theo Fleury arguably hold more appeal to WE Day's young audience than Margaret or Sacha Trudeau. Why were the Trudeaus paid to speak, but not Black or Fleury?
8. Former WE employees have asked to be released from their NDAs so they can speak up about their concerns & experiences and contribute to your reform efforts. Will you let them speak?
9. You have alleged that one of your senior employees stole charitable funds from your organization. On what date did you alert the local authorities?
10. What role, if any, did you or your intermediaries play in former WE employee Santai Kimakeke recanting his allegations against Marc Kielburger and WE?
11. You claim that your former employee Peter Ruhiu reimbursed your charity for the money you claim he stole. Ruhiu has not been convicted of a crime or sued in civil court by WE. How was his repayment secured and what role if any did you play in it?
12. Has WE Charity (Canada or US) ever hired a specialized communications/strategy firm to launch disinformation campaigns, plant negative stories about perceived enemies, or otherwise covertly attack WE's critics?
13. Will you consent to a forensic audit (by an auditor not of your choosing) of WE charity, your many privately held companies and your personal finances?
14. Your full-time vocation for over 20 years has been philanthropy. What is your personal net worth?
