Trudeau being urged to give RCMP more SNC-Lavalin access

BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH, ALEX BALLINGALL AND ALEX BOUTILIER

OTTAWA— Opposition leaders are pressing Justin Trudeau to waive cabinet confidences covering documents and witnesses related to the SNC-Lavalin controversy to ensure the RCMP has full access to all evidence in its examination of the affair.

As Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau launched his bid for a second term in office Wednesday, the controversy that had dogged the government this year was back in the headlines with a report in the Globe and Mail that the Mounties had hit a roadblock in their inquiries because of cabinet confidences.

In a report last month, federal Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said that the prime minister violated ethics rules for improperly trying to influence former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to offer SNCL avalin a deferred prosecution agreement that would allow the company to avoid possible criminal prosecution.

Much of what transpired is covered by cabinet confidence, meant to keep private the discussions of cabinet ministers and senior officials about sensitive government matters.

Yet, the Liberal government provided a narrow waiver to allow Wilson-Raybould to testify before a parliamentary committee though she said she was still limited in what she could say.

In his report, Dion noted that the government’s refusal to fully waive cabinet confidences had stymied his own investigation.

In a statement Wednesday, Department of Justice spokesperson Ian McLeod said the RCMP was granted the same access that was provided to the ethics commissioner and the parliamentary committee. “The decision to do so was made solely by the Clerk of the Privy Council as guardian of cabinet confidences,” McLeod said.

Standing outside Rideau Hall Wednesday, Trudeau defended the extent of the government’s disclosures on the issue and said such decisions were made by Clerk of the Privy Council.

“We gave out the largest and most expansive waiver of cabinet confidence in Canada’s history,” he said.

“We respect the decisions made by our professional public servants. we respect the decision made by the clerk,” Trudeau said.

In a statement last month, the RCMP stopped short of saying it was conducting a formal investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing. Instead, the force said it was “examining this matter carefully with all available information and will take appropriate actions as required.”