Finance Committee on July 28th, 2020

[Marc Kielburger]

We are.

We'd like to share with you that as part of the conversations with ESDC, ESDC asked us to assume full liability for up to 40,000 young people who would be volunteering and to accept full liability for those 40,000 young people and all the non-profits those young people would be volunteering at, so on the advice of professionals working with us—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Okay, are you telling us—

[Marc Kielburger]

[Inaudible—Editor]

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

—that it was the federal government's idea to push this through a real estate holding company? Is that what you're saying? Because that's really, really strange.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

I want a full answer here—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

This isn't WE Charity, this is—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

—if we could.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Who in the government—

[Marc Kielburger]

Mr. Chair—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

—signed off on giving the money, upwards of $500 million, to a company, a holding company that you have—

[Marc Kielburger]

Sir—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

—whose original purpose of was to hold your real estate? Come on.

[Marc Kielburger]

Mr. Chair—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

We'll come back, if we could, for a full answer on where the money was held. If you know who signed off, you can give that answer as well, but I want to give the gentlemen time to answer the question appropriately.

Gentlemen, go ahead.

[Marc Kielburger]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We really appreciate it.

Again, this information as shared by Global News was incorrect. We want to stress this over again. This is not a real estate holding company. This is actually a charitable organization that was set up to help limit liability.

I'm going to say it again: It's a charitable organization set up to—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

It has no track record and no assets.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Charlie, could we hear the answer?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

It hasn't done anything. Come on. Come on; don't—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

You'll have to make a judgment on that following the answer, if you could.

Gentlemen, answer.

[Marc Kielburger]

It was set up to help limit liability. The Government of Canada asked us to assume massive liability, sir, as part of this initiative for 40,000 young people volunteering during the pandemic. It would have been very difficult for us to put the entire organization at risk under those circumstances.

We had this entity previously set up as one to limit liability, and on the advice of professionals we used that entity—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

But it was the board that—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Mr. Angus—

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Your board was concerned about it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Mr. Angus, let them finish the answer, please.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

I'm asking a question, Mr. Chair—please.