Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confers with his chief of staff Katie Telford at the National Press Gallery Dinner in Gatineau, Quebec, Saturday June 3, 2017. Trudeau is to testify Thursday afternoon about his government's decision to get the WE organization to run a summer student-volunteer program. His chief of staff Telford is to follow him for questioning by the House of Commons finance committee. (Fred Chartrand/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Trudeau and his chief of staff to testify on WE affair Thursday

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his chief of staff Katie Telford are expected to testify in front of the House of Commons finance committee Thursday afternoon about the Liberal government’s decision to get the WE organization to run a summer student-volunteer program.

Trudeau and his minority Liberal government have been under fire since announcing on June 25 they were awarding a sole-sourced contract to WE Charity to administer the $900-million Canada Student Service Grant.

WE backed out of the program in early July, citing the controversy over the Liberals’ handling of the sole-sourced deal, which was awarded despite the charity’s ties to Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

It emerged that WE has over the years paid more than $300,000 to members of Trudeau’s family for speaking engagements.

And Morneau, whose daughter works for the organization, admitted last week to having not repaid more than $41,000 in travel expenses for visiting WE projects, saying it was an accidental oversight.

The opposition Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois have called on both to resign.

Earlier in July, Canada’s Ethics Commissioner, Mario Dion, launched an investigation into a possible breach of federal conflict of interest laws by Trudeau over his decision to award the WE Charity the contract to administer the federal student grant program.

Trudeau faces investigation into possible breaches of three sections of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Act, which prohibit public office holders from making decisions that further their own private interests or the interests of another person, and for giving someone preferential treatment and failing to recuse themselves from a conflict of interest.

With files from CBC News and The Canadian Press

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