A charity under scrutiny after receiving a contract to administer a $900 million government program has gone through an organizational upheaval over the past few months, CBC News has learned.
The chairs of both the Canadian and U.S. boards of directors for the WE Charity resigned in the spring. The vast majority of the other board members in the two countries have been replaced as well, and staff have been laid off in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The flurry of changes began about two months before the federal government announced WE was the only organization in Canada able to administer the multi-million dollar Canada Student Service Grant initiative.
Changes at the top
The reasons for the resignations in WE’s upper ranks remain unclear. The former Canadian chair of the board of directors, Michelle Douglas, tweeted that she resigned on March 27 and that “almost all” of those on the Canadian and American boards resigned or were replaced around the same time. She declined to explain why when approached by CBC News.
Michelle Douglas resigned from the board of directors of WE Charity on March 27, 2020. I am no longer associated with WE.
Almost all of the board of directors of WE Charity in Canada and the US) resigned or was replaced in March 2020. <a href=”https://t.co/jtKInVhNa0″>https://t.co/jtKInVhNa0</a>
An earlier tweet from Douglas does hint at a push for more transparency from the organization.
In April, a tweet from Douglas directed at WE co- founders Marc and Craig Kielburger raised questions about work done in Kenya. WE said it had provided “life-saving #COVID19 prevention information” to more than 84,274 people in Narok County.
“Great work @WEMovement. But what are the details? How is it possible to have managed to reach so many? Such a specific number. Wow! How did you do it? Share info on your efforts so they can be replicated by others!”
Great work <a href=”https://twitter.com/WEMovement?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@WEMovement</a>. But what are the details? How is it possible to have managed to reach so many? Such a specific number. Wow! How did you do it? Share info on your efforts so they can be replicated by others! <a href=”https://twitter.com/marckielburger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@marckielburger</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/craigkielburger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@craigkielburger</a> <a href=”https://t.co/FtIFmzz3Jd”>https://t.co/FtIFmzz3Jd</a>
Many board members approached by CBC News did not respond to a request for comment. A few indicated that their terms on the board had simply come to an end. But filings with the Canada Revenue Agency show all the board members’ terms were slated to run until Aug. 31.
The WE Charity’s new board chairs say the organization simply sped up planned changes “in order to best position the organization to respond to a predicted multi-year global pandemic.”
That statement comes from a letter from the two new chairs — Canadian Greg Rogers and American Jacqueline L. Sanderlin — which WE shared in response to questions from CBC News.
Most board members have been replaced
The letter states that, as WE was approaching its 25th anniversary, many board members had been in place for more than five or 10 years. The letter says the organization decided to undertake a strategic review to focus on future priorities and to “address issues such as diversity, inclusion and range of competencies.”
WE maintains separate boards of directors for Canada and the United States, but the two boards meet jointly as a “North American Board of Directors.” The letter says that WE reduced the number of spots on its board and replaced the majority of its members. Of the 14 people who made up the North American board, only three remain.
Most of the new board spots “are now filled by persons of colour, including the U.S. Chair,” says the letter.
“Any transformation of this kind naturally invites some challenge. Overall, we believe the renewal process has strengthened the two Boards and will help to guide the organization moving forward.”
First layoffs, now ‘short term’ hires
Around the time board members were departing, WE also began to lay off staff.
Two sources with knowledge of the organization describe the number of layoffs as significant. WE did not answer CBC’s question about the number of staff who have lost jobs.
WE’s operations would have been particularly vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. One of its most prominent activities is “WE Day” — a series of events that bring together thousands of students to celebrate youth leadership. COVID-19 has made such gatherings impossible.
Charities everywhere have seen donations dry up as individuals and businesses focus on their own financial woes.
ME to WE, the charity’s for-profit sister company, sells international travel packages that promise cultural immersion or volunteer experiences — things like helping to build schools abroad. Most of that company’s profits are donated to the charity.
“Due to the impact of COVID-19, like many others, we were forced to lay off employees, especially from our global service travel and live events division,” WE said in a media statement.
Now that WE is administering the Canada Student Service Grant program, the organization has “invited former staff to apply for open short-term contract positions.”
Hundreds of people will be needed to run the grant program and hiring is still underway, the organization says.
The federal government has said it has “currently allocated” $19.5 million to WE to run the Student Service Grant program; $5 million of that sum is intended for other not-for-profits involved in the program.
The precise amount WE receives, however, will depend on how many students participate. The initial goal was to offer 20,000 placements; as of Tuesday the government said it already had received 28,500 applications.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended the decision to give the contract to WE. He said WE’s networks across the country made it the right choice and the organization itself won’t make any profit from the contract.
“Quite frankly, when our public servants looked at the potential partners, only the WE organization had the capacity to deliver the ambitious program that young people need for this summer that is so deeply impacted by COVID,” he told reporters Monday.
‘Insulting to our members’
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents some 140,000 public servants, pushed back against that claim.
“Mr. Trudeau’s claim that WE Charity is the ‘only one’ that can administer the new grant program is not only factually wrong, it’s also insulting to our members,” said PSAC National President Chris Aylward. “PSAC members have worked hard to support the government’s rapidly evolving response to the pandemic and remain committed to continuing doing so.”
The Conservatives are now asking Canada’s procurement ombudsman to review the $912 million program. They made a similar request of the auditor general.
“Outsourcing a $900 million-dollar program designed to pay students and recent graduates for volunteer work to a third party raises justifiable concerns and a number of questions,” said three Conservative MPs in a letter to the ombudsman.
They also pointed to five other sole-source government contracts handed out to WE and asked that those contracts be reviewed.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on stage during WE Day UK 2020 on March 04, 2020 in London. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
The Conservatives note that Trudeau and his family have numerous personal connections with WE. The prime minister has appeared at many WE events, while his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is an “ambassador and ally” of WE and hosts a podcast with the group focused on mental health. Trudeau’s mother has also done work with the charity.
WE insists no member of the Trudeau family receives an honorarium for work with the charity, though Grégoire Trudeau has had her travel expenses covered.
Trudeau has not shied away from his connections to WE.
“I have worked with WE in the past,” he told reporters Friday, “because I believe strongly in promoting opportunities for young people.”
Trudeau said he and his family will continue that work in the future.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
