The Carleton WE Club has been renamed Global Minds in the wake of the scandal involving the national WE Charity and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
WE Charity announced earlier this month it will wind down its operations in Canada. The charity faced political backlash after receiving a $912 million contract from the federal government to administer a student grant program.
This backlash was the result of Trudeau’s failure to disclose the relationship between his family and the charity.
Margaret Trudeau, the prime minister’s mother, was paid approximately $250,000 for speaking at 28 WE events between 2016 and 2020. Alexandre Trudeau, the prime minister’s brother, was paid approximately $32,000 for speaking at eight events.
Sophie, Margaret, and Alexandre Trudeau were also reimbursed more than $200,000 for their expenses when making appearances at WE events.
“I didn’t want to believe that all of this was true,” Carleton club president Maeve Kelly said in an interview with Charlatan Live. “The toxicity, the corruption—I could go on and on about all the issues.”
The Carleton club will remain social justice-oriented, dissociating from WE but maintaining similar values and goals.
Global Minds will still centre its attention on the five pillars WE stands for: water, health, education, food and opportunity. The club will decide on one pillar to focus on this year and donate their proceeds to a charity in that field of work.
The club’s vice president (finance) Kai Houston said that the new name keeps the club independent from any organization and reflects what the club stands for.
“I hope that what people have learned from WE will have a lasting effect and continue to inspire them,” Houston said.
Devyn Delaney, the 2019-20 club president, stepped down from her position in June, stating she “didn’t feel comfortable representing the organization here at Carleton.”
Delaney said in 2018, she became aware of the national WE Charity’s mismanagement of funds through a Canadaland article published in October of that year.
“The beginning of the end for the organization is when they became so much bigger,” Delaney said. “It became all about celebrities and endorsements … It was the end of the line for me. It was the complete final straw.”
The WE Charity, founded in 1995 by Mark and Craig Kielburger, grew to involve 18,000 schools and pull one million people out of poverty. In 2019, the charity pulled in a record $66 million in revenue and owned a property portfolio of at least $44 million. It aimed to build sustainability in impoverished villages through volunteering and donations.
Global Minds will hold its executive elections Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.
