OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concedes that people use private Liberal fundraisers to discuss issues important to them but insists it doesn’t unduly influence government decision-making.

The prime minister and several senior cabinet ministers have come under fire in recent months over party fundraisers that charge supporters up to $1,500 a head. Liberal MPs have defended the private events, saying that they fall within the rules.

But at a news conference Monday, Trudeau was asked point-blank if he ever talked government policy at the party fundraisers and, if so, whether he reported those discussions to the “appropriate oversight authorities.”

The prime minister admitted that wherever he goes, citing town halls, consultations and even fundraisers, Canadians raise issues that are a priority. He did not answer whether discussions that touch on government business are formally reported as lobbying.

“Any time I meet anyone . . . they will have questions for me or they will take the opportunity to talk to the prime minister about things that are important to them, Trudeau told reporters.

“But the fact is my approach continues to be to listen broadly through every different opportunity that I get and make the right decisions based on what’s good for Canada,” he said.

“And I can say that in various Liberal party events, I listen to people as I will in any given situation, but the decisions I take in government are ones based on what is right for Canadians and not on what an individual in a fundraiser might say,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister said he and his ministers are “extremely available” to Canadians as he sought to portray the exclusive and often secret fundraisers in the same vein as private meetings he conducts as prime minister.

“There are many, many events that I hold, whether it’s with municipal leaders, whether it’s roundtables with small business owners or business leaders, where it’s meeting with first responders and security officials across the country that aren’t public events, that are events where we talk about the issues that matter to Canadians,” Trudeau said.

“At no point (does) attending a fundraiser give a particular or special access on policy to anyone,” he said.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said later that the discussions mentioned by Trudeau do not fall under the definition of lobbying.

“There are specific laws that outline the definition and rules of lobbying in Canada and that activity is not permitted to take place at any partisan event,” Cameron Ahmad said in an email.

“He was very clear that attending a fundraiser plays no role in the development of government policy,” Ahmad said.

A week ago, interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose asked the federal lobbying and ethics watchdogs to take a look at the fundraisers.

In her letter to the federal agencies, Ambrose alleged that the fundraising activities violate the Conflict of Interest Act, the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyist Code of Conduct and run afoul of the Liberals’ own ethics guidelines.

Those rules make clear that there should be “no preferential access to government, or appearance of preferential access, accorded to individuals or organizations because they have made financial contributions to politicians and political parties.”

In the Commons on Monday, Ambrose went after Trudeau, charging that with each fresh revelation, “the more it looks like the prime minister’s cash-for-access fundraisers are unethical.

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“How can the prime minister be so blind on ethics,” Ambrose said.

NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau said the Liberals had originally denied that government policy was the topic of conversation at party fundraisers.

“The prime minister just confirmed that not only was government business discussed at these events but that it’s the prime minister who decides if that’s appropriate or not,” she said in question period.

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