OTTAWA – An Ontario Catholic school board that paid Justin Trudeau $15,000 to speak at a 2010 conference is considering the Liberal leader’s offer to reimburse speaking fees he made as an MP.
But a spokesman for the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board said Trudeau has not yet been in contact with the board.
“Should Mr. Trudeau contact the board to discuss a reimbursement of his speaking fee, the board would consider any options that Mr. Trudeau may wish to pursue with the board,” spokesman Mike Weaver said in an email.
Trudeau delivered a keynote speech as part of a professional development conference hosted by the school board on May 7, 2010.
“His speech was well received by those in attendance,” said Weaver. He said the board has not asked Trudeau for a refund.
Another organization, the Canadian Mental Health Association in Halton region, paid Trudeau $20,000 to speak at a free event on June 26, 2012 – his second-last, for-profit speech.
A spokesman for the association says it doesn’t want money back from Trudeau.
“His talk focused on youth mental health promotion and was very successful with many young people and vulnerable individuals in attendance. In addition to addressing youth mental health, he touched on his mother’s struggles with depression,” spokesman Joe Kim said in an email.
“CMHA Halton Region is satisfied with the event and will not be seeking reimbursement.”
Following a request from a New Brunswick charity to return his $20,000 speaking fee from a year ago, Trudeau said Monday he is willing to cut a personal cheque to any organization that asks. He said he plans to contact all 17 organizations he charged speaking fees to as an MP since 2008. He stopped the professional speaking circuit in June 2012.
“I would draw in people to these events and I’m proud of the work that I did. And I will be happy to pay them back personally if they are dissatisfied,” said Trudeau.
He also said he would consider repaying charities he spoke to before he was elected in October 2008.
Trudeau’s office did not respond to questions about whether it had reached out to the Algonquin school board. A spokeswoman said the office is in the process of contacting all 17 organizations.
Sadiq Hasan, the co-founder of another charity contacted by Global News, Children of Hope, paid Trudeau $10,000 in May 2008. Hasan said the board is meeting Tuesday night and “will decide what we are going to do.”
Another group, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2512 which represents support staff at the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, told the Globe and Mail it might ask for a refund. The Ontario union local spent $16,806 in taxpayer money on Trudeau’s speech in November 2009, the newspaper said. The union local president did not return calls Tuesday.
But other groups have said they won’t be asking Trudeau for their money back.
Three other organizations contacted by Global News – the London Health Sciences Centre, the Ontario Library Association and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union – said they did not want money back from Trudeau.
A Saskatchewan literacy conference that paid Trudeau $20,000 in April 2012 said it doesn’t want its money back, even after Premier Brad Wall criticized Trudeau for accepting the money.
And three events from 2006, including a municipality and two post-secondary institutions, told Global News they don’t want to be reimbursed, after the Conservatives sent around documentation that showed they lost money.
Questions are also being raised about the New Brunswick charity Grace Foundation, after it was revealed a board member and her husband have ties to the federal Conservatives. Representatives from the seniors’ charity have not returned requests for comment.
And the Prime Minister’s Office is taking heat after some media reported it leaked documents about Trudeau to the media. An official said no taxpayer money was used, but it is not clear what office resources were used.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was asked during a press conference from Northern Ireland about his staff releasing documents about Trudeau’s speaking fees to charity. He did not address the question head-on.
“As someone who is paid by the public, I get good remuneration from the taxpayers as a public servant and I don’t think it is appropriate for me to take money from charity,” Harper said.
– with files from Shirlee Engel
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