Trudeau’s defence could awkwardly sound like blame

On Thursday, Michael Wernick, the clerk of the Privy Council — the top civil servant in the federal government — came out swinging against the recent allegations that have thrown the Liberal government into disarray. Specifically, after a long, eyebrow- raising introduction that had very little to do with the matter at hand, Wernick acknowledged that former justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson- Raybould had indeed been “pressured” to grant SNC-Lavalin a break from criminal prosecution on bribery charges and move toward a settlement in the form of a remediation agreement. Indeed, he had done some of the pressuring himself. If this was a problem, Wernick said, Wilson- Raybould should have spoken up.

But, Wernick insisted, this wasn’t inappropriate pressure. “I am quite sure the minister felt pressure to get it right,” was his delightful turn of phrase. To Wernick, this was somehow materially distinct from the “undue” or “inappropriate” pressure the Liberals have been insisting never occurred.

The Liberal defensive lines have fallen back some as this scandal progressed. First, of course, the line was that Wilson- Raybould had not been “directed” — the prime minister himself stuck to that one quite closely for days. It was an odd thing for him to say, as the original Globe and Mail story that kicked this whole affair off had never said the former attorney general was directed, but rather that the Prime Minister’s Office had tried pressuring her. When that non-denial didn’t help, the Liberals shifted gears slightly. Consider Monday’s resignation letter by Gerald Butts, the prime minister’s nowformer principal secretary: “I categorically deny the accusation that I or anyone else in (the prime minister’s) office pressured Ms. WilsonRaybould,” he wrote.

How the Liberals reconcile that categorical denial with Wernick’s subsequent admission that he is “sure the minister felt pressure” remains to be seen. But it’s already clear where this whole affair is heading. Unless Wilson-Raybould ultimately says nothing or starts offering complete, belated denials that she was pressured, the Liberals are going to find themselves arguing that this accomplished Indigenous woman simply overreacted when a series of men tried to pressure her into making a decision that was rightfully hers to make, and if she’d been bothered by the pressure, it was her responsibility to take action.

It would be an interesting response. It’s possible that senior Liberals might even believe there is some truth to it. But if that’s the best they’ve got, it will be something to see feminist, progressive Trudeau resorting to “blame her” as his defence against a scandal that continues to bog down his government.