'Utterly unjustifiable': Trudeau Foundation chair calls out 'attacks' against organization

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation board of directors chairperson Edward Johnson says the organization has been subjected to "unwarranted and unfair attacks" amid foreign interference allegations.

Johnson testified Tuesday before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, which has been studying foreign interference and threats to Canada's democratic institutions since mid-March, building on the work of another House committee given the heightened scrutiny of foreign interference attempts in Canada.

It was reported in the Globe and Mail in February that the foundation several years ago had accepted $140,000 in donations from two Chinese businessmen with ties to the regime in Beijing.

Johnson called recent negative opinions of the foundation — since reports of the donation came to light — "utterly unjustifiable."

He also repeated the message from two previous witnesses — former foundation board member and the prime minister's brother, Alexandre Trudeau, and former foundation president Morris Rosenberg — that he doesn't believe any foreign interference took place through the foundation.

"My own view is that there has never been an opportunity for a so-called foreign influence operation to influence the foundation," Johnson said.

The board chair also said while he's "in no position" to categorically refute all the reporting around the donation, he can say some of the specifics are, to his knowledge, incorrect.

He said he's "unaware of any foreign interference," and that some of the reporting has been "arguably" defamatory, but that he would rather categorize it as "unfair."

The foundation's most recent CEO, Pascale Fournier — who, along with the rest of the organization's board of directors, resigned last month — testified before the same committee in late April.

The Canadian Press reported Fournier said she resigned from her position because of a breakdown in trust on the board of directors, and that she had pushed for an independent forensic audit into the donations, a move that caused tension between board members.

The foundation issued a statement following Fournier's appearance at committee saying that it "strongly contests" several aspects of Fournier's testimony, namely "some of the facts or their interpretation," the internal governance process of the organization, and the circumstances around the board of directors' mass resignation.

And Johnson testified Tuesday he is in favour of an independent review of the donation, and he chalked up the mass board resignations to the "severe pressure" on the foundation following reporting of the donation.

Johnson said such a review has not yet officially started.