It’s a bigger scandal.

The harm facing Michael Chong’s family, that is. And it’s arguably bigger than the Aga Khan, SNC-Lavalin and the WE “charity” scandals.

Each of those previous Trudeau government scandals was, ultimately, about money and graft. At the sordid, seamy centre of each of those was something that could be quantified with dollar signs.

Aga Khan was about a lobbyist supplying the Prime Minister of Canada with lavish gifts, contrary to every ethics rule extant. SNC-Lavalin was about Trudeau and his circle obstructing justice, and pressuring prosecutors to go easy on a Liberal Party donor facing corruption charges.

And the WE scandal, of course, was about money – hundreds of thousands of dollars – landing in the pockets of Trudeau family members, and a lucrative contract then going to WE.

So why is the Michael Chong story more of a scandal?

Forget, for a moment, that Chong is an MP, and an effective Opposition Member. At the end of the day, he is a Canadian citizen, one who – like all of us – deserves to be protected by his country’s government.

So, too, his family. It’s important to know that some of Chong’s family, on his father’s side, still live in Hong Kong. And, now, we know that the Chongs have been targeted for harassment, intimidation, and threats by the Chinese regime – which is corrupt, brutal, and regularly abuses human rights.

It is because they abuse human rights – Muslims, specifically – that Michael Chong condemned China in the House of Commons. China’s dictatorship thereafter barred the long-serving MP and former cabinet minister from travelling to China.

So what, one might say. Being reproached by China is truly a badge of honor, these days. But China went a step further, and put together a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats against the Chong family.

And here is where the real scandal is revealed. Justin Trudeau and some within his government knew all that. They were briefed about what China planned for the Chongs.

And Trudeau said, and did, nothing. He didn’t warn the Chongs, or try and get them out of Hong Kong.

Since the story broke in the pages of Globe and Mail, TruAnon winged monkeys have been swarming social media, actually claiming that Michael Chong wasn’t really, truly threatened because he didn’t know about the threats until he read them in a newspaper.

That is deeply dishonest, and it is idiotic. And it ignores the obvious and real scandal: that the Prime Minister of Canada knew what the Chongs were facing, and did nothing.

What if one of them had been beaten? What if one of them had been killed? What if something has, in fact, happened, and don’t even know about it yet? That is why it feels worse than any previous scandal.

Trudeau knows it is one, too. That is why he scrambled to meet with Chong on Tuesday, bringing along his ineffectual national security advisor and Canadian Security Intelligence Service director. But that meeting took place long, long after the fact. Too late.

So, we have to ask, why? Why would Trudeau not warn Michael Chong about what he knew? Was it because Chong is a Conservative who criticizes him? Perhaps.

More likely it is this: the Trudeau Foundation illicitly received thousands from a Chinese front company, to influence his decision-making. His brother, Sacha, was apparently personally involved in that “gift,” and is finally testifying on his role in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

So, at the end, this scandal – which is worse than all the others, because it is about human lives being placed at risk – also involves graft and money.

When investigating a scandal, follow the money, they always say.

And, every single time, it leads you back to the Trudeau family, doesn’t it?

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