Supreme Court allows judicial review of ethics ruling on Trudeau's involvement in WE Charity decisions

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Democracy Watch can proceed with a judicial review of a federal ethics commissioner's decision that cleared former prime minister Justin Trudeau of wrongdoing in relation to decisions involving WE Charity.

The case stems from a May 2021 report by then–Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion, who concluded Trudeau did not contravene the Conflict of Interest Act when he participated in government decisions concerning WE Charity, an organization that operated programs in Canada and internationally.

Democracy Watch sought judicial review of Dion's findings in the Federal Court of Appeal shortly after the report was released. Federal government lawyers argued the application should be dismissed, citing provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act that limit judicial review of the commissioner's findings on questions of fact and law. The Court of Appeal agreed and dismissed the application.

In a decision released Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned that outcome, finding that political oversight of the ethics commissioner is not an adequate substitute for judicial review. The ruling allows Democracy Watch's challenge to proceed through the courts. According to the Supreme Court's decision, the case concerns whether the commissioner's findings can be reviewed despite statutory limits on court intervention.