Trudeau scandal: PM's party blocks exattorney general from testifying again

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party has come under fire for preventing the former attorney general from testifying again to parliament, further intensifying a political crisis that has engulfed the Canadian prime minister and his government.

The Liberal-dominated justice committee convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine if they should hear further testimony from Jody Wilson-Raybould over allegations that senior officials tried to interfere with the prosecution of an engineering firm accused of bribery.

Conservative and New Democratic members had called on Wilson-Raybould to return to the committee. But less than 30 minutes into the emergency meeting, a Liberal member called for a vote amid shouts of disapproval from opposition members.

Peter Julian, a member of leftwing New Democratic party, called the vote “disgusting”. Colleague Tracey Ramsay said she was “shocked at the behaviour” of Liberal members.

Last month, Wilson-Raybould told the committee that she had experienced sustained and inappropriate pressure from senior Trudeau aides to abandon the prosecution of engineering company accused of bribing Libyan officials. The company, SNC-Lavalin, has lobbied for a deferred prosecution agreement, meaning it would pay a fine in lieu of criminal prosecution.

Wilson-Raybould chronicled meetings exhaustively with senior government officials, but she remains unable to speak about events following her removal as attorney general. She resigned from cabinet on 12 February and is also prohibited from speaking about her decision to step down.