Auditor general says she won't probe donations made to Trudeau Foundation

The office of the federal auditor general says it will not investigate private donations received by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, despite a letter from the board's chair requesting an audit.

Natasha Leduc, a spokeswoman for the office, says the decision was based on the scope of the auditor general's authority under the law.

Leduc says Karen Hogan can audit any organization that has received $1 million or more in public funds, but it is not within her authority to examine the source of private donations or the motivations of the donors.

The foundation's interim board chair, Edward Johnson, had sought an audit of two donations made in 2016 and 2017 that were worth $140,000 and came from Chinese businessmen.

The donations have been under scrutiny for their possible links to the Chinese government amid a broader debate about alleged foreign interference in Canada.

"I have determined that my office will not be conducting an audit," Hogan wrote to Johnson in a letter sent Monday. 

"This decision is based on the scope of my authority under the Auditor General Act and our review of the endowment agreement between the government of Canada and the foundation."

The foundation's CEO and most of its board of directors resigned earlier this month citing the politicization of the donations, which they said impeded the scholarship organization's independent, non-partisan work. 

According to the auditor general's website, the office investigates the activities of federal government departments and agencies, Crown corporations and the country's three territorial governments and their agencies.

Inquiries that fall explicitly outside the auditor's mandate include requests to review policy decisions or to intervene in disagreements between private citizens and governments, banks or businesses, says the website. 

Hogan wrote to Johnson that when it comes to private donations, her work would have been limited.

"It would be outside my authority to examine the source of private donations, the identity of other donors or their motivations," she wrote. 

When asked about the controversial donation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters last week he has not been involved in the foundation's activities for nearly a decade.

However, the Opposition Conservatives have argued the foundation that bears Trudeau's name has been used by individuals to court favour with the prime minister and those close to him.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has asked the commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency to launch an audit into the foundation. He cited a report from the Montreal-based newspaper La Presse that said that in trying to return the now-problematic donation, the organization discovered that the name on the cheque did not match the name of the donor.