The federal Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner cannot currently initiate investigations or issue reports on possible ethics breaches by public servants because it has no acting commissioner, a House of Commons committee heard on May 12. Representatives from the office told the Commons Standing Committee on Ethics that a future commissioner could…

A parliamentary committee is recommending that Canadians victimized by non-consensual and content posted to Pornhub and other sites should be able to get it removed immediately. In a report today, the House of Commons ethics committee recommends that online platforms, such as the one owned by Montreal-based MindGeek, be held liable for failing to prevent…

OTTAWA—Opposition members shut down a parliamentary committee hearing Wednesday after the Liberal government once again refused to let a political aide appear to answer questions about the now-dead deal with WE Charity. Members of the House of Commons’ ethics committee had asked Amitpal Singh, a senior adviser to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, to testify after…

OTTAWA—A parliamentary hearing on the federal government’s now-dead deal with WE Charity threatened to devolve into chaos on Monday after the Liberals sent a cabinet minister to answer questions on behalf of one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s senior aides. Members of the House of Commons ethics committee had expected to hear from Trudeau’s director…

OTTAWA—Craig and Marc Kielburger accused a parliamentary committee of engaging in a political trial Monday as its members grilled the brothers over WE Charity’s operations, including its since-cancelled deal to run a federal program for student volunteers. The heated exchange had the Kielburgers accusing political parties of trying to score points at the expense of children around…

OTTAWA—Craig and Marc Kielburger say a parliamentary committee’s study into WE Charity is nothing short of a political trial, accusing MPs of trying to score points at the expense of children around the world. The brothers delivered the indictment of the House of Commons ethics committee this afternoon as they defended WE’s operations and structure…

OTTAWA—Capping an extraordinary exchange of demands and counter-demands, a lawyer for WE Charity’s co-founders agreed late Thursday that Craig and Marc Kielburger will appear Monday before the House of Commons ethics committee. As long as he can “intervene where necessary to provide advice to our clients,” lawyer William McDowell wrote in a letter to the…

OTTAWA—Members of the House of Commons ethics committee have unanimously voted to summon WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to testify. Last week, they declined requests to do so, a fact that MPs from all parties expressed concerns about on Monday. A summons from a Commons committee has legal force, and the motion gives…

OTTAWA—A young woman whose life was shattered by a video of her posted to Pornhub while she was still in middle school says the trauma of child pornography is unending, and that stricter rules are needed. Serena Fleites told the House of Commons ethics committee Monday that she fell into a spiral of depression, drug…