On Parliament Hill

It’s been a busy week in Canadian politics.

Last week saw the high-profile resignation of Justin Trudeau’s Principal Secretary, Gerald Butts. Butts stepped down in the wake of the ongoing SNC Lavalin Scandal that has engulfed the Liberal Government.

The Liberals face allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) attempted to pressure, then Justice Minister and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene on behalf of SNC-Lavalin – a major Liberal donor in the past – in an ongoing criminal prosecution.

Last Thursday saw two high profile witnesses testify before the Justice Committee in the SNC-Lavalin affair: Justice Minister, David Lametti and Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick. Mr. Wernick’s testimony confirmed that the PMO engaged in a sustained and coordinated campaign to interfere in SNC-Lavalin’s criminal prosecution.

There were multiple attempts from the PMO and PCO (Privy Council Office) to get the former Justice Minister to reverse her position not to intervene including a Dec. 5 meeting with Justin Trudeau’s chief advisor Gerald Butts and a Dec. 19 phone call with Mr. Wernick.

Mr. Wernick later told reporters that he believed the former Justice Minister “felt pressure” to “get it right.”

These inappropriate and potentially illegal actions constitute a clear attempt to pressure the Justice Minister to change her mind. And when she refused to do so, the Prime Minister fired her.

Ms. Wilson-Raybould returned to the House last week and met with her former Cabinet colleagues. Numerous sources confirm that in that Cabinet meeting the former Justice Minister confirmed she had been improperly pressured to intervene.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has called repeatedly for the Prime Minister to waive solicitor client privilege and allow the former Justice Minister to share her story. He has also called for the Prime Minister to appear before the Justice Committee to explain his actions – a motion the Liberal majority blocked.

Finally, on Tuesday, the Prime Minister relented and agreed to waive certain elements of solicitor-client privilege to allow his former Justice Minister to speak to the Justice Committee.

As all this was going on, last week also saw the United We Roll convoy roll into Ottawa. The convoy was protesting Justin Trudeau’s campaign to eliminate Canada’s energy sector including his Carbon Tax. There was also anger over Justin Trudeau’s failed immigration policies. Andrew Scheer met with the protesters and re-iterated our Conservative support for Canada’s energy sector, secure borders and the elimination of Justin Trudeau’s Carbon Tax.

Three by-elections were held this week. Monday’s results were a mixed bag that saw NDP leader Jagmeet Sigh win in Burnaby South, Liberal Rachel Bendayan win in Outremont, Quebec and Conservative Scot Davidson win in the Ontario riding of York-Simcoe. My congratulations to all the winners and my thanks to all who ran for participating in our democracy.

As Canadians eagerly await Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony to the Justice Committee, it looks like it’s going to be another busy week.