Small business caught in WE affair crossfire

A small business that booked speaking engagements for Justin Trudeau and his family has been caught in the partisan crossfire of the WE Charity affair.

Martin Perelmuter, who co-founded Speakers' Spotlight 25 years ago with his wife, Farah, says his company has been harassed since August, when Conservative MPs began publicly calling on it to disclose speaking fees earned by the prime minister, his wife, mother and brother — even though that would have contravened privacy laws.

In one Facebook post, deputy Conservative leader Candice Bergen provided the company's toll-free phone number and urged people to call to press the point.

Ever since, Perelmuter says his company has faced harassment, personal threats and a social media campaign designed to discredit him and his wife and damage the reputation of their company, which was already struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In testimony at the House of Commons ethics committee today, Perelmuter says the company was forced to call in the police after one individual posted a photo of his wife and her private cellphone number, along with a "disgusting" rant about her.

He says his wife feared for her personal safety and was afraid to leave their house.