Lack of transparency has also been a concern of many Canadians about Trudeau’s liberal government. There have been several scandals of lack of transparency since Trudeau Liberal took office in 2015. Following are some of the examples.
Vacation on aga khan island
On Christmas break in 2016, Justin Trudeau and his family spent their vacations on the private island of Mr. Agha Khan, a close friend of Trudeau family. This caused backlash in media, although Justin Trudeau believed he did not involve in any ethical violation as the private island was owned by a long-term close family friend. Earlier that year the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada received millions of dollars in funding from the federal government. During the investigations, the Ethics Commissioner found a conflict of interest, although there was no evidence of any business discussions during this trip.
SNC-Lavalin scandal
In 2011 due to the allegations of paying millions of dollars of bribes to the government officials in Libya, investigations started against SNC-Lavalin.
In 2018, Justin Trudeau added the option of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) to the criminal code. SNC Lavalin approached the Director of Public Prosecutions for a DPA in which was denied. The attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was Minister of Justice as well had the authority to overrule this decision. In February 2019, after portfolio of Jody Wilson-Raybould was changed to Minister of Veterans Affairs, she came forward to say that Prime Minister Trudeau allegedly pressured her into granting SNC-Lavalin a DPA.
After investigations, the Ethics Commissioner concluded that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his authority to pressurize the Attorney General in order to grant the SNC-Lavalin DPA committing breach of ethics.
WE charity scandal
In summer of 2020, Justin Trudeau announced a program to financially support students who were volunteering to fight the pandemic. Federal government announced that they had chosen the WE Charity to manage a $912 million-dollar student grant program.
Since the WE Charity had ties with the Trudeau Family, the opposition parties had sent various complaints to the Ethics Commissioner regarding the conflict-of-interest. An investigation opened as Trudeau was accused of using his relation to the WE Charity to influence their position into the program. Because of these complaints, the federal government and WE Charity decided to part ways and letting the federal government control the grant.