SNC-Lavalin case: Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was AG and justice minister in Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s first cabinet in 2015, made the allegation in her forthcoming memoir, Indian In the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power, to be published on Tuesday
A controversy that dogged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 returned to prominence on Saturday as Jody Wilson-Raybould, a former attorney general in his first government, accused him of asking her to “lie” to cover up for a brewing scandal.
Wilson-Raybould, who was AG and justice minister in Trudeau’s first cabinet in 2015, made the allegation in her forthcoming memoir, Indian In the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power, to be published on Tuesday.
In the excerpts carried by the daily Globe and Mail, Wilson-Raybould recounted meetings with Justin Trudeau early 2019 as controversy swirled over an article in the same newspaper that “inappropriate” pressure was being brought upon her to allow Quebec-based firm SNC-Lavalin to cut a deal over an investigation into the bribery of Libyan officials being undertaken by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
In the excerpt, she writes, “In that moment, I knew he wanted me to lie – to attest that what had occurred had not occurred. Lie to protect a Crown government acting badly; a political party; a leader who was not taking responsibility.”
Justin Trudeau immediately denied the charge while campaigning in the Greater Toronto Area, as he said, “I did not want her to lie. I would never do that. I would never ask her that. That is simply not true.”
Jody Wilson-Raybould’s memoir was originally scheduled for publication in October, but the date was advanced and the book will become available six days before the snap elections on September 20.
Jody Wilson-Raybould, the most prominent indigenous leader in Justin Trudeau’s first cabinet, was moved to veterans’ affairs in early 2019 and she resigned thereafter.
Later, testifying before a House of Commons justice committee, she said, “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.”
Trudeau, at that time, denied those allegations and said he “completely disagrees” with her version of events. However, those developments led to the departure of Trudeau’s closest aide in the PMO, principal secretary Gerald Butts.
Trudeau was admonished on the matter by Canada’s ethics commissioner Mario Dion. In a report on the SNC-Lavalin affair in August 2019, he noted, “The prime minister, directly and through his senior officials, used various means to exert influence over Ms Wilson-Raybould.”
Trudeau denied those charged as well, stating, “The commissioner took the strong view that all contact with the attorney general on this issue was improper. I disagree with that conclusion, especially when so many people’s jobs were at stake.”
Trudeau’s argument for the company was that it was a major Canadian multinational and a large employer in Quebec and legal action against it would jeopardise its operations.
In the book, Jody Wilson-Raybould also explains the reasons for her resignation – “There was now no trust. I had lost any belief I had in the prime minister. And there is no room in cabinet for someone who thinks the prime minister is untrustworthy. There was also no room for me in a government that would act this way on matters of core principle such as upholding the rule of law.”
Trudeau countered those charges on Saturday, as he said, “I genuinely, obviously, regret how it ended up. But I don’t regret the things that I chose to do to stand up for Canadians and move forward; because every step of the way, that’s what has to guide me. That’s my responsibility as prime minister.”
