The organization said on Friday that it had received confirmation that the check, issued in the name of the company “L’aigle d’or du millennium”, had finally found a buyer and had been deposited.
The daily The Globe and Mail revealed that the Foundation received a $200,000 donation in 2016 from Zhang Bin, a Chinese government policy adviser, and Niu Gensheng, a Chinese businessman and philanthropist.
The CEO The Trudeau Foundation’s interim, Edward Johnson, however, assured this week that the Foundation had received two payments of $70,000, for a total sum of $140,000.
According to our information, the organization’s board of directors was divided on how to manage the crisis. The Foundation was unable to repay the donation, because it could not find anyone to give the money to.
‘Millennium Golden Eagle’ linked to Chinese government
Zhang Bin, one of the two businessmen involved in the donation, is the president of the China Cultural Industry Association, which claims to operate under the authority of the Chinese government. Moreover, the website of this association indicates that it adheres to the ideologies of the Chinese Communist Party and that it was created with the approval of the State Council of China.
This same association claims that “The Golden Eagle of the Millennium” is one of its board members and that the Chinese Ministry of Culture supported its creation. This company would be directed by the billionaire Zhang Bin, according to several registers of private Chinese companies.
An investigation requested
In a letter to the Auditor General of Canada, Karen Hogan, the interim CEO of the Trudeau Foundation calls for an investigation into the management of this donation, which has become a political issue, and offers the organization’s full cooperation in this direction.
The Bloc Québécois also made such a request to the auditor earlier this week.
Tuesday morning, eight directors of the Foundation and its president and CEO, Pascale Fournier, announced their resignation en bloc, explaining that the politicization of the case had made the status quo impossible within the organization. Ms. Fournier worked as a CEO for the Foundation for five years.
The Trudeau Foundation, an organization that describes itself as independent and non-partisan
, pilots a leadership and mentoring program. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participated from its inception in 2001 until 2014.
With information from Louis Blouin and The Canadian Press
