Trudeau denies any interference
OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday denied interfering in Canada’s judicial system as he sought to defuse a crisis threatening his political future, and offered no apology, asserting only that lessons had been learned.
Trudeau called a news conference to address allegations that improper pressure was put on former justice minister Jody WilsonRaybould to help construction firm SNCLavalin Group Inc avoid a criminal trial.
‘‘There was no breakdown of our systems, of our rule of law, of the integrity of our institutions,’’ Trudeau, the Liberal Party leader, told reporters.
‘‘There was never any inappropriate pressure.’’
Trudeau (47) came to power in November 2015 promising ‘‘sunny ways’’, more accountability and a greater number of women in the Cabinet. Yet two highpowered female ministers have quit over the case and he now finds himself accused of trying to arrange a backroom deal with a major company.
Trudeau and other officials deny doing anything improper by asking WilsonRaybould to consider offering SNCLavalin a deal to avoid a trial on charges of bribing Libyan officials. WilsonRaybould had the power to scrap the decision to go to trial and impose a fine but decided against it.
Trudeau, who discussed the matter with WilsonRaybould on September 17, said: ‘‘I stressed the importance of protecting Canadian jobs and reiterated that this issue was one of significant national importance.’’
The crisis has prompted the resignations of WilsonRaybould, Treasury Board President Jane Philpott and Trudeau’s closest political aide, Gerald Butts.
‘‘There are many lessons to be learned and many things we
❛ There are many lessons to be learned and many things we would have liked to have
done differently
would have liked to have done differently,’’ Trudeau said.
A weekly tracking poll released by Nanos Research on Wednesday put the Conservatives at 35% public support and the Liberals at 34%.
A January 8 Nanos poll put the Liberals at 39% and the Conservatives at 33%.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer repeated calls for Trudeau to resign and said the prime minister’s comments had been ‘‘a completely phony act of fake sincerity’’.
He said Trudeau had ‘‘acted like someone who has something to hide’’.
Some Liberal legislators complained privately that Trudeau’s team had mishandled the mat ter. One senior party member, who had previously voiced concerns, said Trudeau was right not to apologise.
Under current laws, SNCLavalin could be banned from federal procurement contracts for 10 years if found guilty.
SNCLavalin, which employs 9000 people in Canada, has close connections to the Government. Kevin Lynch, the company’s chairman, was once head of the federal public service.
The company is based in the populous, largely Frenchspeaking province of Quebec, where Trudeau’s Liberals lead in the polls but say they need to win more seats to have a chance in the October election. — Reuters