Details emerge as House of Commons Finance Committee releases contract.
More information about the WE Charity contract has been released.
Turns out, they were already paid.
The Liberal government already paid them $30 million as part of the ‘startup costs’ for the program.
Notably, no part of the program had even been delivered at the time, representing a big upfront payment.
WE says they will pay it all back. So far, that has not occurred.
In a statement WE said, “The details of repayment are presently being worked out with the government.”
Notably, former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page told the Globe & Mail that the contract was “incredibly front-end loaded.”
“I think the size and speed of the contract stand out – It is a large disbursement of money over a short period of time,” he said. “I do not think this is common, but assume the government and recipient would argue the significant time and size pressures would create large up front costs on the recipient.”
More disturbing details have emerged, including the revelation that – despite being allocated $900 million for the program – the contract only planned to spend about $500 million on student grants, the stated purpose of the program, raising questions about where that other $400 million would go.
As we look at all of this, one thing that comes to mind is why the Liberals seemed so desperate to get the money out the door so quickly. Clearly, there is much more going on here than the Liberals are willing to admit.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
