Butts exit deals blow to Liberals
Instrumental strategist
OTTAWA • Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government was rocked Monday by the resignation of his principal secretary amid allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office interfered to prevent a criminal prosecution of SNCLavalin.
In a statement, Gerald Butts unequivocally denied the accusation that he or anyone else in the office improperly pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to help the Montreal engineering giant avoid a criminal case on corruption charges related to government contracts in Libya.
Nevertheless, Butts said the allegation is distracting from the “vital work” Trudeau is doing, so it’s in the best interests of the Prime Minister’s Office for him to step aside.
“I categorically deny the accusation that I or anyone else in his office pressured Ms. Wilson-Raybould ...,” he said.
“But the fact is that this accusation exists. It cannot and should not take one moment away from the vital work the prime minister and his office is doing for all Canadians.”
Wilson-Raybould, who was demoted from justice to the veterans affairs post in January, resigned from cabinet last week. She has not explained why and she has cited solicitor-client privilege to refuse comment on the allegation, levelled by anonymous sources in a Globe and Mail story 10 days ago, that she was improperly pressured to help SNC-Lavalin. She has hired a former Supreme Court justice to advise her on what she may legally say.
Trudeau has denied anyone pressured Wilson-Raybould to instruct the director of public prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin, a kind of plea bargain in which a company pays restitution but avoids criminal prosecution that could bankrupt it.
But Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Butts’ departure “is the clearest indication yet that there is much more” to the affair than Trudeau has admitted.
Both Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on Trudeau to waive solicitor-client privilege to allow Wilson-Raybould to tell her side of the story.
The departure of WilsonRaybould, Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister and the embodiment of Trudeau’s commitment to reconciliation with First Nations, was a big blow to the Liberals. But Butts’ exit is arguably an even bigger one.
He was instrumental in organizing Trudeau’s successful leadership bid in 2013 and was one of two key architects — along with Katie Telford, now Trudeau’s chief of staff — of the Liberals’ stunning come-frombehind election victory in 2015. He was expected to be a key player in the Liberals’ re-election bid this fall.
Meanwhile Singh announced Monday that the NDP will propose a motion in the House of Commons calling for an independent inquiry led by a former judge, which will be put to MPs for a vote on Wednesday. Motions are not binding on the government, however.
Butts has been chief among those whom opposition parties suspect were behind the alleged pressure on Wilson-Raybould. He has confirmed that she briefly raised the SNC-Lavalin matter during a meeting in December. Butts has said he advised her to speak with the clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick.
Trudeau paid homage to his old friend in a tweet: “Gerald Butts served this government — and our country — with integrity, sage advice and devotion. I want to thank him for his service and continued friendship.”