The government of Saskatchewan is the latest province to end its relationship with WE Charity after the organization found itself embroiled in a conflict of interest scandal with the Liberal government.
Education Minister Gordon Wyant announced on Tuesday that the province had hit the pause button on a government contract with the group, claiming that the provincial government no longer had confidence in the charity.
“Well, I guess you’d say that the fact is that there’s been circumstances that have arisen… that creates some conflict with respect to delivery of the program,” said Wyatt during a press conference.
“We don’t have confidence in their ability to deliver the program, given some of the… controversy that’s arisen and so we don’t feel that… we want to have that relationship.”
Saskatchewan’s decision follows the province of Ontario, which also announced that it too had cut ties with the organization earlier this week.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce announced that his ministry will not renew existing contracts with the group and will review all past expenditures.
“This is taxpayer money. Hard working people in this province deserve to know that their money is delivering value, and these allegations raise serious questions,” said a statement by Lecce.
Over the last month, WE Charity has made headlines after it was chosen to oversee a $900 million student service grant by the Trudeau government.
The charity was specifically chosen for the job, despite extensive financial and personal ties with the Trudeau family and members of the Liberal cabinet. The agreement has since been cancelled in light of public scrutiny.
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion has launched an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the ordeal.
Trudeau was called before the Standing Committee on Finance to testify on the matter. During his testimony, Trudeau skirted responsibility for the decision saying that it was Canada’s public service who was responsible for picking the charity for the contract.
