The ex-cd-g. of the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Foundation, Morris Rosenberg, said he saw no problem when receiving the controversial Chinese donation, in a testimony that is far from having convinced the skeptical opposition deputies.
“I think that everything that happened in 2016 is not related to interference,” said Mr. Rosenberg, who headed the Foundation at the time of a donation made by two Chinese businessmen. a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
The one who has worked in the senior federal public service for both Liberal and Conservative governments ensures that he has not tried to hide anything about this donation. Above all, he maintains that the $200,000 received by the Prime Minister’s family foundation from wealthy Chinese donors in the summer of 2016 did not arouse any suspicion in him.
” Honestly, no. It was a different time. It was after two of the largest universities in Canada received amounts, “he dropped before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
At the time, he explains, all the universities wanted to find such agreements with China, long before a climate of suspicion weighed on relations between the two countries. The popular idea at the time was even that Canada could perform “soft power” [soft power] to influence the Beijing regime for the better.
Morris Rosenberg mentioned several times during his testimony the articles of the Duty which showed that two Chinese businessmen, Zhang Bin and Niu Gensheng, originally intended to donate one million dollars to the University of Montreal for scholarships in the name of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The foundation in his name entered the picture at the time of the conclusion of the agreement to use the name of the former Prime Minister.
According to Morris Rosenberg, the agreement had even been concluded before the election of the Liberals of Justin Trudeau, in 2015. He says he has a lot of trouble understanding how this donation was presented as part of a foreign influence operation. in an article from Globe and Mail of last February, citing unnamed sources.
“Intelligence is not proof!” he said, visibly irritated by the media coverage that has placed him at the center of a foreign interference scandal for several months.
His independence questioned
Mr. Rosenberg is also the author of a report tabled this winter in Parliament which points out that attempts at foreign interference took place during the 2021 federal election, “but not enough to reach the threshold of impact on the electoral integrity”. The public was therefore never informed.
Given his past role at the Trudeau Foundation, itself targeted by allegations of foreign interference because of this Chinese donation, opposition politicians have questioned the independence of its author. Conservative elected officials did not go through four ways to let him know on Tuesday.
“Canadians don’t believe you!” Tory MP Larry Brock threw at him at one point. His colleague Michael Cooper had cut him off shortly before by launching “It’s very suspicious! »
The harshness of the remark made the elected Liberals present around the table burst out laughing. Morris Rosenberg then said he was offended by these remarks.
In a completely different tone, Bloc Québécois MP René Villemure threw flowers at Mr. Rosenberg, praising the “remarkable pedagogy” of his report on foreign interference. Morris Rosenberg said he favors a public inquiry into foreign interference, and even an inquiry that would look into the donation made to the Trudeau Foundation.
He says Canada should learn from the United States and report attempts at foreign interference after every election.
To know why the Trudeau Foundation had organized a meeting with senior officials in the Prime Minister’s office building, as reported by The Press, Mr. Rosenberg explained that this was part of his plan to break down the barriers between academic research and senior public service. “It’s not a jail [cet édifice], it is accessible if necessary. »
He says he has not spoken more than a few seconds to the Prime Minister in his life and claims to be perfectly independent of partisan politics.
Contradictions with his successor
The testimony of the former senior official contradicted at times that of the woman who replaced him at the head of the Trudeau Foundation, Pascale Fournier.
Mme Fournier indicated before this same committee last week that she found the Chinese donation of 2016 suspicious, in particular because different information appeared on one and the other of the tax receipts issued when the two were received. payments of $70,000 finally received by the Foundation. She says she left when conducting her investigation on instructions received by the Foundation from an association close to the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr. Rosenberg, who was CEO. at the time of the events, maintains on the contrary that everything was done according to the rules of the art, proof being that the tax receipts could only be used by the company which made the donation, named Millennium Golden Eagle International. One of the donors, Mr. Zhang, wore “several hats”, including one with the Chinese Cultural Industry Association, close to the Chinese government. The Foundation would have simply mailed the receipt to her address in China.
The names of the donors would have been written on the second receipt to highlight their contribution, he said. Since Mr. Zhang’s company is based in Dorval, Quebec, Mr. Rosenberg considers that it was not a Chinese donation but a donation from Canada. He had “no reason” to think otherwise, he said.
Mr. Rosenberg did not directly criticize Pascale Fournier, but said he wonders why the Foundation has not contacted him to find out the circumstances of the involvement of Alexandre Trudeau, the Prime Minister’s brother, in the receipt of this gift. He indicates that it seemed completely normal for him to be present at the ceremony and affixes his signature to the agreement, since the donation was made in memory of his father.
He also refutes the statements of Mr.me Fournier that his departure was caused by an internal crisis. “We accomplished all the mandates of the Foundation. »
The Prime Minister’s brother, Alexandre Trudeau, is due to appear before this parliamentary committee on Wednesday, after having made the request in the pages of the Duty.