LILLEY: A deeper look at Kielburger Inc.

WE and its founders, the Kielburger brothers, have been in the news for years.
Good looking, smart young kids that sought to change the world and, in many ways, they’ve succeeded.

Yet, despite all the stories about good works performed in places like Kenya and Ecuador, all the WE Days with their celebrity speakers and thousands of screaming school kids,

 most of us know little about the WE universe and how it operates. That was brought home just over a week ago when WE Charity revealed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s family had been paid to speak at WE Day events.

The money didn’t come from WE Charity though, it came from ME to WE. If you don’t know the difference you aren’t alone.

 I’ve been spending the last week trying to peel back the layers to discover what is WE, ME to WE, WE Charity, WE Education for Children Limited, ME to WE Asset Holdings Inc, WE Villages, WE Schools, the ME to WE Foundation and the WE Charity Foundation.

It all boils down to one thing, Kielburger Inc., a collection of charities, foundations, and holding companies with Craig and Marc Kielburger at the centre.

Craig and Marc Kielburger started Free the Children in 1995, telling anyone who would listen that they wanted to stop child labour.

From there, the organization grew, taking on issues of the developing world. They’ve built schools in impoverished parts of the world, built a college for women in Kenya, water systems in Ecuador and more.

Along the way, they’ve also spoken to thousands upon thousands of school children here in Canada, in the United States and the United Kingdom. At these events, which children must earn their way to with good deeds, school kids are inspired by the social justice gospel preached by the Kielburgers and the many top names they draw to come and speak.

Like Margaret, Alexandre and Sophie Trudeau.

As we found with Margaret Trudeau, though, there are blurry lines for where the WE Charity ends and the other organizations begin.

 When WE Charity got the sole-sourced contract for $912 million from the Trudeau government, they felt secure in telling media outlets that they had not paid members of the Trudeau family. Their corporate sponsor ME to WE paid those fees.

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Toronto Sun