Canada PM welcomes probe into allegations officials tried to help SNC

OTTAWA, (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday welcomed a probe into whether officials improperly tried to help construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc, making clear he sought to ride out a potential scandal just months ahead of elections.

Independent ethics commissioner Mario Dion said he would look into allegations, first raised by the Globe and Mail newspaper, that Trudeau officials last year had pressured Jody Wilson-Raybould, when she was the country’s justice minister and attorney general, to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a trial over bribery and corruption charges linked to Libyan contracts.

“We welcome the ethics commissioner’s investigation . ... It’s extremely important that Canadians can continue to have confidence in our system,” Trudeau told reporters in Vancouver.

Although Dion’s office has only limited powers to sanction wrongdoing, the probe shows the affair may become more problematic for Trudeau as he prepares for a close-run re-election bid this October.

Wilson-Raybould was unexpectedly demoted last month and given the more junior post of veterans affairs minister, prompting speculation she was being punished for insisting the trial go ahead rather than allowing SNC-Lavalin to pay a fine.

Trudeau said he had “full confidence” in WilsonRaybould, who has declined to discuss the matter.

Pollster Nik Nanos of Nanos Research said he did not think the allegations would immediately hit the Liberals’ chances.