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Trudeau ‘Sorry’ As First Canadian PM To Break Conflict Of Interest Act

Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Justin Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to have broken federal conflict of  interest rules, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson said Wednesday. Trudeau was in violation of the act when he took his now infamous Christmas vacation one year ago on the private Bahamas island of acquaintance and government beneficiary the Aga Khan.

CBC News is reporting that former Secretary of State John Kerry was also a guest on the island at the same time as Trudeau.

Trudeau offered an apology while walking through the House of Commons foyer, saying he was ‘sorry’ he didn’t check to see if the trip was authorized before embarking. “We respect and obviously accept the full report of the commissioner,” he told reporters.

In her “Trudeau Report,” Dawson ruled that the vacation was improper because the Aga Khan regulars lobbies the Canadian government and the Aga Khan Foundation is in receipt of tens of millions of dollars of government money to finance its international development work.

Trudeau received free accommodation and transportation from the Khan while staying with him.

Trudeau admitted his “mistake” and promised, “Moving forward we will be behaving differently.”

The prime minister has maintained that he didn’t evaluate the potential problems of the free trip because he considers the Khan to be a close friend. But Dawson’s report found that contention to be baseless.

“Mr. Trudeau’s relationship with the Aga Khan was based on a family connection rooted in a friendship between the Aga Khan and Mr. Trudeau’s father thirty years earlier. However, there were no private interactions between Mr. Trudeau and the Aga Khan until Mr. Trudeau became Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada,” The Trudeau Report states.

Aside from embarrassment, Trudeau is unlikely to receive any formal sanctions for his misstep nor face any further legal investigation.

Opposition Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer seems willing to let matters lie, though he maintains the ethics investigation dragged on far too long.

“Justin Trudeau needs to recognize that when he occupies the prime minister’s seat, it is not enough to simply comply with the law – something that Justin Trudeau didn’t even do in this case, but to be better… to answer questions fully, and to tell the truth,” he told CTV News.