Story
Government of Canada Payed Justin Trudeau Family Member to speak at the Blockchain event
Canadian lawmakers are demanding answers after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 's half-brother was charged by the federal government to appear at a blockchain conference last year.
- According to the Globe and Mail Monday article, Kyle Kemper was compensated C$ 12,430 (US$ 9,127) for speaking about blockchain technologies at a conference in Zug, Switzerland, in June 2019.
- Kemper was allegedly approached by Canadian government officials to take on the role of speaker after they heard him speaking about the tech at a recent conference in Dubai.
- Kemper said the decision was not taken because of his personal link to Justin Trudeau.
- The Prime Minister's Office stated that the role of Global Affairs Canada, the Consular Support Department and the Diplomatic Relations Department, was the seal of approval.
- Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) said that Trudeau 's government should explain how the contract came to be donated to Kemper.
- Krystyna Dodds, spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada, said that the screening criteria for speakers are based on their reputation in the business world, their topic expertise and their ability to speak in public.
- Kemper was the executive director of the Blockchain Association of Canada before last year and, according to his LinkedIn profile, is now the group's counselor.
- He also wrote a book entitled "The Unified Wallet: Unlocking the Digital Golden Age" and created a wallet business named the Swiss Key.
