Trudeau backs fundraiser with justice minister
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has thrown his weight behind his justice minister’s controversial attendance as guest of honour Thursday at an exclusive $500-a-person reception in the offices of a major Bay Street law firm.
Mounting political criticism and the image of Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould mingling privately with well-heeled donors, presumably including select members of the legal profession, was insufficient Wednesday for Trudeau to call off the Liberal Party of Canada event.
“The federal government and the Liberal Party of Canada have very, very strict rules around fundraising,” Trudeau told reporters in Montreal, citing federal laws against union and corporate donations.
“We as a party have always demonstrated a level of openness and transparency in how we’ve conducted our affairs and we will continue to set a very high bar on our expectations of how Canadians need to be able to see that politicians are accountable.”
The federal Liberal’s Open and Accountable Government ethics code stipulates, “there should be no preferential access to government, or appearance of preferential access, accorded to individuals or organizations because they have made financial contributions to politicians and political parties.”
Tickets for the Wilson-Raybould reception at the offices of Torys LLP have been advertised on a section of the party’s website closed to public viewing. The host of the event is Mitch Frazer, a partner at Torys LLP. The firm has no involvement other than providing the venue on the 33rd floor of the TD South Tower.
A senior partner at Torys who was named in the federal Registry of Lobbyists and authorized to lobby Justice Canada on behalf of a corpor- ate client said Wednesday the registration file has been dormant for more than a year but his staff mistakenly renewed it. At his request, he said, the registration was revised Thursday to “inactive.”
The Liberal party said Wilson-Raybould consulted federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson about the event and “was advised there is no conflict in her participation,” Braeden Caley, a party spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday.