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The negotiations that led to a controversial donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation were conducted with a Chinese cultural association with ties to the Chinese government, the former president of the foundation told members of Parliament on Friday.

Testifying before the House of Commons ethics committee, Pascale Fournier said she dug into past e-mails related to the 2016 donation that had been attributed to two Chinese businessmen — Bin Zhang and Niu Gensheng — after news reports earlier this year raised questions about whether the donation had been made at the behest of the Chinese government.

"What I did notice was that he was the chair of the board of that association based in China," Fournier said. "That association was in relationship with the [Chinese] government, he was the chair of that association and he was one of the donors."

Fournier was asked if the association was an extension of the Chinese government. "There was a very strong proximity," she said.

"I don't know if I would say extension but it was clearly under the guidance, I think, was the expression used on their website. Under the guidance of the government."

Fournier pointed out that former president Morris Rosenberg told the National Post in December 2016 that the foundation didn't consider the donation as foreign money because it was made by a company incorporated in Canada.

"This was a declaration on behalf of the foundation, to say that it was not foreign money, that it was Canadian money," Fournier told MPs. "This was in the annual report as well. When in fact, the tax receipt itself mentions China.

"So, I think this is something that is misleading to Canadians."

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canad...f6af1057&ei=12