Today is not a good day for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It could very well prove the straw that broke the camel's back for his government.
Mario Dion, Canada's Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, issued a report stating Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act by attempting to persuade then Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to overrule the director of public prosecution's decision not to seek a deferred prosecution agreement with the Montreal based construction firm SNC-Lavalin. When Wilson-Raybould refused to overrule the decision, Trudeau demoted her in a cabinet shuffle and she subsequently resigned from Cabinet. This past stpring Trudeau ultimately expelled Wilson-Raybould and another former cabinet minister Jane Philpott from the Liberal Party caucus.
Dion, while restrained in his language, was unambiguous in stating Trudeau was in the wrong:
It is not for Mr. Trudeau, or for me, or for any other administrative body to judge whether an Attorney General has properly or sufficiently considered the public interest in matters of criminal prosecution or, for that matter, any other aspect of their decision-making process. Absent an abuse of process, even courts are reluctant to adjudicate on issues involving the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. As the Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General testified, the Attorney General must shoulder the responsibility for such decisions and is ultimately accountable before Parliament.
After analyzing all the facts concerning Trudeau's attempt and those working on his behalf to improperly influence Wilson-Raybould and Trudeau's justification for his actions, Dion writes:
As Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau was the only public office holder who, by virtue of his position, could clearly exert influence over Ms. Wilson‑Raybould. The authority of the Prime Minister and his office was used to circumvent, undermine and ultimately attempt to discredit the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions as well as the authority of Ms. Wilson‑Raybould as the Crown's chief law officer.
Mr. Trudeau argued that he could not be held vicariously liable for the actions of his senior advisors and other senior departmental officials. He pointed to this Office's decision in The Wright Report, where Commissioner Dawson found that Mr. Nigel Wright, then Chief of Staff to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, had used his position to influence another person's decision so as to improperly further another person's private interests. However, nothing in that report suggests that the former Prime Minister was involved in or even aware of the scheme.
Here, in contrast, the evidence abundantly shows that Mr. Trudeau knowingly sought to influence Ms. Wilson-Raybould both directly and through the actions of his agents.
For his part, Trudeau issued a mealy mouthed statement. While Trudeau said, "I take responsibility for the mistakes I made", he also took issue with Dion's conclusions namely that it was not improper of him to discuss the case with Wilson-Raybould. Trudeau added that he wouldn't apologize standing up for Canadian jobs. What Trudeau doesn't apologize for is standing up for giving special treatment to a top Liberal Party donor in his home province.
With a federal election only two months away, Trudeau did have to give the appearance of contrition hoping it would be sufficient to neutralize the opposition. Recent polls have been mixed with some giving the Liberals the lead and some giving the Tories the lead all within the 4% margin of error whilst one poll had the two parties in a dead heat. As long as voters have SNC-Lavalin on their minds over the next two months, Trudeau can look forward to becoming Canada's first one term Prime Minister in over 80 years.
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