‘Justice system did its work’: Current, former AGs react to SNC-Lavalin guilty plea

OTTAWA -- Federal Attorney General and Justice Minister David Lametti says the agreement between the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and SNC-Lavalin’s legal counsel to have the Quebec-based construction firm plead guilty to a single count of fraud over $5,000 and pay a $280-million fine was “made independently.” In a statement responding to the development in the case that was at the centre of a months-long scandal for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and his predecessor Jody Wilson-Raybould, Lametti said the decision was reached as part of the Director of Public Prosecution’s office’s “responsibility to continually assess and determine the appropriate path for cases under their jurisdiction.” Wilson-Raybould, the former attorney general and justice minister, tweeted that “the justice system did its work” and that “accountability was achieved.” The now Independent MP who quit Trudeau’s cabinet and was then removed from the Liberal caucus earlier this year during the months-long affair had testified and presented various oral, written, and audio submissions in an effort to back up her allegations that she was improperly pressured by Trudeau officials to make a deal in the corruption and fraud case against SNC-Lavalin to ensure it could continue bidding on government contracts. “I have long believed in the essential necessity of our judicial system operating as it should—based on the rule of law and prosecutorial independence, and without political interference or pressure,” Wilson-Raybould said Wednesday. “Ultimately, that system was able to do its work—as democracy and good governance requires—and an outcome was reached today. Accountability was achieved.” In an interview with The Canadian Press, Trudeau said that his government “could have, should have, would have” done things differently “had we known all sorts of different aspects,” of the political and legal saga. Wilson-Raybould said that 2019 began with questions about the rule of law in Canada, and that she is “glad to see it end with that principle being upheld.” “It is time to move forward,” she said. In a statement, Director of Public Prosecutions Kathleen Roussel thanked her prosecutorial team “for their dedicated work on this very challenging case, in the face of unprecedented public attention.”.........