A democratic non-profit advocacy group is appealing a court ruling that found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not breach conflict of interest rules for his alleged role in the WE Charity scandal.
Democracy Watch is challenging the 2021 ruling by former Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion before the Federal Court of Appeal.
In a press release, Democracy Watch said it is arguing that Mr. Trudeau was guilty of violating federal ethics laws and that he directly participated in grant approval for the charity, according to a press release. The group said Mr. Trudeau was friends with the two Kielburger brothers who ran the charity and noted the family of the prime minister also had close ties with the group.
The appeals court heard the arguments on March 25 as the parties debated two points: whether the court had jurisdiction over the issue and if any errors made by the ethics commissioner could be challenged in court. The hearing will determine if Democracy Watch will be able to challenge the alleged errors made by the commissioner, the group said, noting that approval of the case would set a new legal precedent.