Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger told the Commons Ethics Committee that WE Charity simply misunderstood the laws under the Lobbying Act when they failed to disclose a variety of relationships with federal staff, politicians, and aides, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Executives from WE Charity testified that they believed themselves to be exempt under the Lobbying Act to disclose their relationships with politicians when they began negotiating with the federal government to receive grant money. The grant was supposed to go towards a summer volunteer program for students who could not find work during the pandemic. WE Charity did not register as lobbyists until August of this year, well after the scandal was revealed.