Why the Slush Fund Scandal is wrong – no matter the amount

Justin Trudeau’s Green Slush Fund lined the pockets of Liberal Insiders to the tune of $400 Million. FOUR HUNDRED MILLION. That’s a hard figure to wrap your head around – that’s genie in a bottle kind of money.

But what about $11,000?

Every single day we take emotionally charged calls from south shore families desperate for help, desperate for relief from the wolf banging down the door, desperate for a safe place to live, desperate for groceries to feed their children until payday.

This slush fund scandal isn’t just appalling because of $400 million. It’s appalling because in the grand scheme of this mess, the $11,000 pocketed by a Liberal Insider is considered trivial and not worth the ethics commissioner’s time.

SDTC board member Guy Ouimet participated to give COVID-19 emergency relief payments to various projects, including Lithion in 2020 & 2021. He has 1% shares in the company.
Following the slush fund boost to Lithion, that 1% is now worth $11,000 – but the ethics commissioner says it’s not enough to be concerned about.
“I determined that Mr. Ouimet’s 1% interest in Lithion when he voted on each decision was so small that there was no risk of conflict of interest.”

I disagree.

Wrong is wrong. There’s no price tag on ethics. Or at least there shouldn’t be.
I will continue to fight this fight – to force the Trudeau Liberals to turn over the slush fund documents to the RCMP – not just for the millions but for the $11,000 stuffed in the pockets of Liberal Insiders – because that matters too.

Rick Perkins
MP South Shore – St. Margarets