Ex-aide to Canada PM denies wrongdoing over SNC-Lavalin; Trudeau to address crisis
OTTAWA, (Reuters) - A former top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied yesterday inappropriately pressuring a Cabinet member to help a major company as Trudeau planned to address a scandal that is threatening his prospects in an October election.
Allegations that Gerald Butts, who resigned last month as Trudeau’s principal private secretary, and other officials tried to help construction company SNCLavalin Group Inc avoid a corruption trial are fueling the crisis that has cost the Liberal government two senior Cabinet ministers.
Some nervous Liberal lawmakers complain Trudeau’s office has taken too long to respond to a scandal that deepened last week when former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said she and her staff had been subjected to persistent pressure.
Trudeau will take questions about the matter at an 8 a.m. (1300 GMT) news conference in Ottawa tomorrow.
“He will speak directly to the issues,” spokeswoman Eleanore Catenaro said, giving no details of what Trudeau might say.
Butts told the House of Commons justice committee he had one short conversation on Dec. 5 with Wilson-Raybould about SNC-Lavalin.
“I did not and I do not see how our brief discussion on that file constituted pressure of any kind,” Butts said. “I am firmly convinced that nothing happened here beyond the normal operations of government.”