EDITORIAL: This mess is now a matter for the RCMP
Article content
After the first minute of Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony, it was already clear that this was a colossal bombshell.
She began her opening remarks: “For a period of approximately four months between September and December 2018, I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in my role as the Attorney General of Canada in an inappropriate effort to secure a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with SNC-Lavalin.
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
EDITORIAL: This mess is now a matter for the RCMP Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“These events involved 11 people (excluding myself and my political staff) – from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Privy Council Office, and the Office of the Minister of Finance. This included in-person conversations, telephone calls, emails, and text messages. There were approximately 10 phone calls and 10 meetings specifically about SNC-Lavalin that I and/or my staff was a part of.”
That in itself was damning enough. Then Wilson-Raybould went on in detail to explain how she had repeatedly told these senior figures to not pressure her, that she had made up her mind, and that she thought the pressure was inappropriate. But they kept on doing it.
More than one of these examples involved people — such as top bureaucrat Michael Wernick — pointing out to Wilson-Raybould that “there is an election in Quebec soon.”
Gerald Butts, who recently resigned as Trudeau’s Principal Secretary, apparently told Wilson-Raybould’s Chief of Staff that “there is no solution here that does not involve some interference.”
There were several more anecdotes like this one — where Wilson-Raybould objected but others kept on pushing.
This is not just sloppy messaging. This is not just a sign that the Liberals are too cozy with SNC-Lavalin. This is not just a sign that perhaps Trudeau is not as committed to running a clean ship as he’d previously pledged.
This is a major red flag that Criminal Code violations concerning obstruction of justice have been broken.
Following Wilson-Raybould’s testimony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau self-assuredly stated: “I completely disagree with the former Attorney General’s characterization of events.” Good luck with that.
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer was correct to call for an RCMP investigation into this mess.
Expect one to commence immediately.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.