The SNC-Lavalin affair has caused major political uproar, leading to the resignations of Jody Wilson-Raybould, the attorney general and minister of justice, Gerald Butts, the government’s principal secretary and senior political advisor, and Jane Philpott, president of the treasury board.
In an official statement regarding her resignation, Philpott said, “Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised.”
Her views reflect those of thousands of Canadians, which could very well lead to Trudeau’s fall as prime minister.
Because of this controversy, the Liberal Party is facing a steady decline in popularity, which could ruin Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chance at being re-elected in the 2019 election.
Statistics published by Abacus Data found that Canadian political attitudes for Liberal preference have been steadily decreasing since the start of the SNC-Lavalin affair.
So, how did this all begin?
In 2015, the Montreal-based engineering and construction firm, SNC-Lavalin, was charged by the RCMP with corruption and fraud in their business dealings with Libya.
If convicted, the company would be barred from bidding on federal projects for the next ten years, in addition to jeopardizing their current federal contracts.
Of course, SNC-Lavalin did not want the case to go to trial, as they employ 50,000 people around the world, including 8,500 Canadian employees. A trial would hurt the company’s reputation and result in massive job loss.
In an effort to avoid criminal charges, the company lobbied to negotiate a deal under Bill C-74, which would impose on them a fine in exchange for dropping the threat of a trial.
However, federal prosecutors refused to negotiate a remediation that would allow SNC-Lavalin to avoid a conviction and protect itself from layoffs and financial issues.
In the following report, Wilson-Raybould claimed she was pressured by members of Trudeau’s cabinet to get federal prosecutors to change their minds regarding the remediation. However, she was unwilling to do so.
Trudeau called these allegations false, but refused to comment further when asked if there had been any other efforts to sway Wilson-Raybould’s opinion.
This will absolutely affect Canadians’ voting decisions in the 2019 federal election, given how much resistance there was from Trudeau to launch the investigation regarding political interference in Wilson-Raybould’s decision.
It’s still possible for Trudeau to win the upcoming election, but given the negative media attention, it is unlikely.
Canadians are losing confidence in our prime minister’s ability to govern with transparency, and will want to separate themselves from association with the SNC-Lavalin affair. They won’t be able to do that if they re-elect Trudeau.
At a press conference on March 7, Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer called on Trudeau to allow Wilson-Raybould to speak her “full truth” on the issue in a news conference in Ottawa during the launch of his online campaign, “Let Her Speak.”
Scheer said, “Previously, it was only after intense pressure that Liberal MPs on the justice committee allowed this investigation to start, and only after intense pressure from Canadians did Justin Trudeau even partially allow Ms. Wilson-Raybould to speak.”
We should hear the unfiltered truths from each side in order to fully understand the issue at hand. Only then can we judge what really happened and know how to proceed.
