Trudeau apologizes for not recusing himself from WE decision

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's very sorry he didn't recuse himself from the government's decision to award a contract to WE Charity to manage a major student-volunteering program.

He says his and his family's longtime involvement with the WE organization should have kept him out of the discussions.

And he says he's particularly sorry that the delay in the program caused by WE's eventual decision to withdraw will harm students looking for ways to help in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau has faced accusations of cronyism and allegations of a conflict of interest over his past connections with WE since it was announced last month that the charity would be running the Canada Student Services Grant.

Those allegations only grew following revelations last week that the prime minister's wife, brother and mother had been paid a combined $300,000 for appearing at a number of WE events over several years.

Trudeau says he knew of their involvement with WE, but did not know the full details.