Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to raise an issue of privilege relating to our work and our ability to get answers on the issue of the WE Charity scandal. I won't take too much time, but I think it's very concerning, because part of the role that we had to do in terms of finalizing this study was that....
After eight months, none of us around this committee actually has any real sense of how the Kielburger operation works. We know of WE Charity. We know that there's a multitude of side companies, but we don't really have a sense.... So when questions were being raised.... We cannot say we've actually done the due diligence. This was why we agreed to have Mr. Victor Li testify. We attempted for a number of months to have Mr. Victor Li. We issued a legal summons for Mr. Victor Li. He said he was feeling sick. I think we were all very reasonable and did something that I've never heard of being done before—offering to let him answer questions in writing.
What concerns me, and the reason I'm bringing it forward, is that a number of questions that were asked were not answered. I can only see that the decision not to answer key questions was deliberate. I would suggest that this is an infringement on the work of our committee.
I will not go through all of them, but some of them are key, as follows: What compensation, financial or otherwise, have you received from any of the related corporate companies or real estate? What other WE-related or Kielburger-related, entities are you involved with in any capacity, as a director, CFO or otherwise? We have been informed that some staff at Free the Children/WE Charity were paid through ME to WE, the for-profit arm. How many employees were paid through the for-profit wing while working for the charity? Do the founders have signing authority at WE Charity and/or any other WE organizations? How many organizations, corporations, charities, etc., are in the global WE family? Please list them and where they are registered.
He refused to answer that.
How many of these companies' organizations are owned partially or entirely by WE founders Craig and Mark Kielburger or Roxanne Joyal?
He refused to answer that.
Does WE Charity, ME to WE, or any subsidiary organization do any business with companies owned by the founders or their family members? This includes from rent on property and purchase of goods and services.
He refused to answer that.
What financial systems do you use to track and account for any donations coming into the Kielburger-related organization? How far do these records go?
He refused to answer that. We're dealing with a charity, and we're asking questions about donor tracking.
What systems and structures do you have in place to ensure the designated funding is actually spent in the appropriate places?
He did not answer that.
Please provide a list of all schools, along with the country, address, location and what donor funds went into its construction.
He did not answer that. That should have been one of the easiest questions to answer, because we were told about all the good work they're doing with children. This was an opportunity for them to explain exactly where the donor funds have gone and what they built.
Please indicate any schools that WE built for any other foundations.
We know that they've been involved. What have they done?
How may hospitals has WE Charity/Free the Children built in the past 25 years? Please provide a list of all hospitals, along with the country, address, location and what donor funds went into its construction.
He did not answer that.
How many villages were adopted in the last 25 years?
He did not answer that.
We asked about the property they owned.
The reason these questions are important is that we were told last week, time and time again, by the Kielburger brothers about the incredible good work they've done on behalf of children around the world. This was an opportunity for them to clear the record, particularly in light of the very concerning allegations raised by Bloomberg, by The Fifth Estate and by other journalists.
Mr. Chair, I feel that my rights as a member have been impeded by the fact that Mr. Victor Li was given a legal summons, we agreed to let him answer in writing, and he has not answered key questions about the financial structure and operations of this organization.
I would like to turn it over to the committee. I think this a serious issue. I think it is a prima facie case of contempt. The question is, do we give him a period of time to answer those questions? What should we do?
I think this is not just about me. This is about the work of our committee.