Two Chinese businessmen behind a controversial donation to the Trudeau Foundation and the University of Montreal have suspended the last installment of the promised million dollars, after a vice-rector of the institution expressed discomfort with one of them attending a fundraising event with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The University’s Faculty of Law was informed on December 12, 2018 by an assistant to Zhang Bin, one of the two donors, that the balance of $250,000 claimed would not be transferred to its coffers.
In an exchange of emails, obtained under the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies, this decision is presented as the result of a conversation between Mr. Zhang and the Vice-Rector for International Affairs and La Francophonie of institution, Guy Lefebvre, in office from 2014 to 2020.
“Given the publicly expressed negative views about Mr. Zhang’s donation, Mr. Guy [Lefebvre] proposed a suspension of the donation process. Following Mr. Zhang’s instructions, my fellow accountant suspended the disbursement of this donation,” Deputy Jin Peng, at the University, replied.
On December 6, 2018, the Faculty of Law’s Development Advisor, Josée St-Martin, wrote to donors to remind them that the last of three installments had been expected since the previous July.
In his response the following week, Mr. Jin explained that the conversation had taken place during a meal bringing together Mr. Zhang and Mr. Lefebvre, during his visit to Beijing the previous year.
Asked about this by The dutyMr. Lefebvre confirmed this meeting with Mr. Zhang, where he discussed the issue of his ties to the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) which sparked controversy after it made headlines across the country in 2016. .
“I expressed discomfort,” he said. I wasn’t so happy about that. »
Mr. Lefebvre, however, denies having claimed the suspension of the last payment.
“I never said: stop paying this donation and cancel the donation,” he said.
awkward links
The ex-vice-rector, now retired, maintains that he was content to insist on the independence of universities here from political powers and foundations, unlike China. In his view, the translator who relayed his words to Mr. Zhang may have misrepresented them.
“I had expressed discomfort, because we behaved in there as if there was no separation between the actors,” said Mr. Lefebvre.
In November 2016, Mr. Trudeau was accused by his political opponents of offering privileged access to LPC donors after the publication of a report exposing his participation in a fundraising evening organized in Toronto at the residence of the Speaker of the Chamber. of Chinese Commerce in Canada, Benson Wong, where Mr. Zhang had been invited.
This activity took place in May 2016, one month before the official announcement, by the University of Montreal and by the Foundation, of the significant contribution of Zhang Bin and Niu Gensheng, during a ceremony where the two businessmen were present, with Mr. Lefebvre who launched the project with the donors.
The former vice-rector was unaware that their last payment was late and the reason for his suspension was attributed to him.
“Nobody told me about that,” he said in an interview on Friday. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve heard of this. »
In 2018, the development advisor, Josée St-Martin, had relayed the information to the office of the dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal, Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens.
“I followed up on the last payment from the Zhang Bin-Nui Gensheng Fund, $250,000, and received the email below from Zhang Bin’s deputy,” she wrote. Did you know that Vice-Rector Guy Lefebvre would have proposed a suspension of payment? »
A spokesman for the University, Jeff Heinrich, could not specify whether the intervention of Mr. Lefebvre had an effect in the suspension of payments.
“From the information we have, we are unable to confirm or deny this claim,” he replied.
Refunds
Signed in 2016 by the University, the Foundation and the donors, an agreement specified that three installments of $250,000 were to be made to the educational institution. The Trudeau Foundation was to receive two payments of $70,000 and one of $60,000, for a total of $200,000.
Like the University, the Foundation did not receive a third installment.
On Friday, the Trudeau Foundation announced that it had returned a total of $140,000 to donors, hoping to put an end to a controversy that led to the resignation of almost all of its board of directors and of its CEO.
Donors channeled the funds through the Dorval-based company, Aigle d’or du Millénaire International, of which Mr. Zhang chairs the board of directors.
According to Globe and Mailthe Canadian Security Intelligence Service has information indicating that the donation of one million was reimbursed to the two businessmen by the Chinese government, as part of an operation to influence Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Zhang also chairs the China Cultural Industry Association (CCIA). As such, he had met Mr. Trudeau during the fundraising evening at Benson Wong’s in 2016, as evidenced by photos on the organization’s website. This is also the last activity of the CCIA listed on this page.
Described as Mr. Zhang’s deputy in an email from the University of Montreal, Jin Peng is also secretary general of the CCIA. As for Niu Gensheng, he is one of the organization’s consultants. Alibaba company founder Jack Ma is one of CCIA’s vice presidents.
The Trudeau Foundation did not respond to requests for information from the Duty.