National Post (National Edition)
SNC affair dominates return of Commons
O T TAWA • Opposition parties are demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau call a public inquiry and waive solicitor-client privilege to get to the bottom of allegations that his office pressured the former attorneygeneral to not prosecute a Canadian corporation.
MPS returned to the Commons Tuesday morning after a break week that saw the resignation of attorney-general Jody Wilson-raybould and Trudeau’s principal secretary, Gerald Butts.
Their first orders of business were a motion by the NDP to call a public inquiry into the events leading to those resignations and a motion from the Conservatives demanding Trudeau waive solicitor-client privilege to allow Wilson-raybould to tell her side of the story. Motions are not binding but they force MPS and ministers to take public positions by voting and they can put pressure on the government.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Tuesday that Canada cannot claim to be a country based on the rule of law if the Prime Minister’s Office is dictating the course of justice. “The prime minister has kept her silent in order to protect himself,” Scheer alleged.
Liberal MP Arif Virani, the parliamentary secretary to the current Justice Minister and Attorney-general David Lametti, said waiving solicitor-client privilege is not a simple matter.
NDP MP Charlie Angus accused the Liberals of trying to “walk the clock down on one of the worst corruption scandals in memory.”
Virani said Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion is investigating and is best placed for the task because he’s unaffected by political rhetoric.
Trudeau also met with his cabinet Tuesday morning for the first time since the allegations arose. The prime minister normally stops to speak to reporters on his way into weekly cabinet meetings but walked by without a word.
Several cabinet ministers who did stop reflected briefly on Butts’s contribution to the government. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said he has “an enormous amount of respect” for the former principal secretary.
“My sense is that he’s decided — and I think appropriately — to defend himself against, you know, people saying things that just aren’t true,” said Morneau.
In question period, Trudeau faced a barrage of questions from the opposition demanding he let Wilson-raybould speak, and accusing him of sexism for giving his side of the story while simultaneously muzzling her by refusing to waive privilege.
Trudeau said his government consistently stands up for the rule of law and the independence of the justice system and he is awaiting advice from Lametti on how to proceed on privilege.
“In the matter of solicitorclient privilege ... there are real dangers of unintended consequences, particularly on the two court cases currently wending their way through the courts,” Trudeau said.