Canada: PM Justin Trudeau denies allegations of lobbying as Opposition calls for resignation
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer asked the federal police to investigate the claims of corruption against Trudeau’s government.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday rejected calls for his resignation amid allegations of corruption and political interference, The Guardian reported. Trudeau said his former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, who testified against him and his aides on Wednesday, could be removed from the Liberal Party after failing to indicate she has confidence in his leadership.
“My team and I have always acted in a professional manner,” Trudeau said, refuting claims made by Wilson-Raybould that his government acted unprofessionally to influence her judgement to prosecute an engineering company, SNC-Lavalin, for bribery and fraud charges. Wilson-Raybould’s testimony comes months before Canada votes for a new government.
“I totally disagree with the former attorney general’s characterisation [of discussions] in her testimony,” said Trudeau, denying allegations that Wilson-Raybould was removed as attorney general for her refusal to back down from bringing charges against SNC-Lavalin. In 2015, the company was formally charged with corruption for allegedly bribing Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011 to secure government contracts.
Wilson-Raybould said she had spoken to Trudeau in September about what she claimed were persistent efforts by officials to help SNC-Lavalin evade trial on charges of bribing the Libyan government, Reuters reported. Wilson-Raybould said she had clarified she was not prepared to help the company avoid a now-pending trial.
“I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, in an inappropriate effort to secure a deferred prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin,” Wilson-Raybould had told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Opposition Conservative leader Andrew Scheer formally asked federal police to investigate the claims against Trudeau’s government, AFP reported. In a letter to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Brenda Lucki, Scheer accused Trudeau’s aides of attempting to obstruct justice. “The matter at hand appears, on its face, to be a gross violation of the law,” he said.
Wilson-Raybould claimed staff working for Finance Minister Bill Morneau had continued to pressure her to help the company even after being asked to stop. Wilson-Raybould was named the minister of veterans affairs in January and resigned from Trudeau’s Cabinet last month. Wilson-Raybould claimed her refusal to give in to government pressure to not bring charges against SNC-Lavalin had led to her demotion.
While Opposition leaders on Wednesday called for Trudeau’s resignation, a prominent Labour party minister extended support. “Of course I support the prime minister 100%... I am very clearly of the view that the prime minister would never apply improper pressure,” said Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is considered by observers a possible successor to Trudeau.