Wilson-Raybould no political saint, either

Re: Letter — The only thing that could make me vote Liberal, Feb. 12.

A letter writer states she would vote Liberal for the first time ever if Jody Wilson-Raybould ran for prime minister. While the full story has yet to be heard about whether there were attempts by the PMO to interfere in the SNC-Lavalin affair, it appears the writer believes that the picture of Wilson-Raybould bravely defying her boss, Justin Trudeau, is a true and sufficient reason to vote for her.

Early in her tenure as justice minister, Wilson-Raybould attended a $500-a-plate fundraiser sponsored by a major law firm, a conflict of interest whereby the sponsor and attendees, all lawyers, were potential beneficiaries of any decision made by her ministry. Justin Trudeau, himself investigated on several conflict of interest charges and an attendee of many such fundraisers, defended her while her own defence was a dismissive if not ludicrous argument that she had attended the fundraiser as a Liberal MP, not as justice minister. I wonder if the sponsors were aware of that.

When it comes to ethics, Trudeau and his Liberals have a rather fluid take on it. The DPA (Deferred Prosecution Agreement) at the centre of the SNC-Lavalin case is a provision with the sole purpose of protecting corrupt corporations from facing trial. It was a provision slipped into the 2018 budget by the Trudeau regime when Jody Wilson-Raybould was justice minister. We can guess why it was slipped into the bill. But can we believe that the justice minister and her department knew nothing about it?

Before running to cast her vote for Jody Wilson-Raybould on the basis of partial information imagining the former minister of justice to be some heroic figure quixotically fighting her superiors for justice and the Canadian way, the letter writer and all voters would do well to inform themselves more fully.

Frank A. Pelaschuk, Alexandria