Supreme Court to look at whether challenge of ethics ruling in Trudeau case can proceed

Interim public sector integrity commissioner Mario Dion waits to appear before the Commons estimates committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday Dec. 13, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will look at whether a group’s challenge of a federal ethics report on Justin Trudeau’s involvement in a decision about WE Charity can proceed.

In May 2021, then-federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion concluded that Trudeau, prime minister at the time, did not breach the Conflict of Interest Act when he participated in a decision about WE Charity, which operated in Canada and abroad.

The group Democracy Watch applied soon after for judicial review of Dion’s ruling in the Federal Court of Appeal.

Federal lawyers argued the application should be tossed out — in part because the Conflict of Interest Act bars judicial review concerning questions of fact and law.

The Federal Court of Appeal granted the government’s motion to strike the application for judicial review, prompting Democracy Watch to take its case to the Supreme Court.

The top court, following its usual practice, gave no reasons for agreeing to hear the case.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.

The Canadian Press