Is Justin Trudeau's apology enough?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's apologized for his actions after the federal ethics watchdog found he violated four provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act when he vacationed on a private island owned by the Aga Khan last Christmas season. But that may not be enough, according to University of Toronto's ethics expert Andrew Stark.
After investigating the prime minister for the better part of a year, outgoing Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson released her decision on Wednesday.
She found that besides the post-Christmas trip, Trudeau had also accepted a vacation on the island for himself and his family in December 2014, and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau set up a trip to the island in March 2016 with a friend of hers and their children.
"When Mr. Trudeau, as prime minister, accepted the gifts of hospitality from the Aga Khan and the use of his private island in March and December 2016, there were ongoing official dealings with the Aga Khan, and the Aga Khan Foundation Canada was registered to lobby his office," Dawson's office said.
"Therefore, the vacations accepted by Mr. Trudeau or his family could reasonably be seen to have been given to influence Mr. Trudeau in his capacity as prime minister."
"You can fall afoul of the conflict of interest law and still be a decent person. What you should do is acknowledge it immediately and take efforts to remedy it. The consequences for the Prime Minister, because he didn't do that, are going to be political, and Canadians are going to have to look at the fact that the arguments that he made to the Ethics Commissioner showed an incredibly legalistic approach to what was really a more fundamental problem of how you should conduct yourself in office and they'll have to judge that in the context of other controversies that the government is in. And those are the consequences," Stark told The House.
Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday he regretted not taking proactive precautions to ensure there was no conflict of interest or appearance of conflict of interest.