If only he weren’t so sanctimonious. If only he hadn’t presented himself as a paragon of virtue in a corrupt, fetid political swamp, then maybe we’d cut him some slack.
I’m speaking of Justin Trudeau, inclusive, feminist, “sunny ways” prime minister who finds himself embroiled in a scandal that threatens his leadership.
As you may have heard – and if you haven’t, where have you been? – former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould (heretofore to be referred to as JWR) testified to a House of Commons committee on Wednesday that members of Trudeau’s staff and senior officials used “political interference” and “veiled threats” in a campaign to get her to drop a criminal case against a major corporation. And not just any major corporation – a major Quebec corporation, SNC-Lavelin.
She described 10 meetings, 10 conversations and a series of emails about the criminal case with senior government officials, including Trudeau’s chief of staff, Gerald Butts, and the supposedly impartial clerk of the privy council (the top civil servant in the land), Michael Wernick, all urging her to come up with a “solution” to the SNC-Lavalin case. (SNC is a huge engineering, procurement, and construction services firm that has been charged with using bribes to secure contracts in Libya).
“I was quite taken aback,” JWR recalled, saying that she then asked Trudeau if he was trying to interfere with a criminal case. “The prime minister said: ‘No, No, No. We just need to find a solution,’” she said.
Others told her that if SNC was convicted of corruption (which would bar it from government work for 10 years), the company would move out of Montreal to London. Now, where would they have gotten that idea? Maybe from SNC-Lavalin’s multiple lobbying meetings with the government?
Speaking to reporters in Wednesday night, Trudeau dismissed his former minister’s testimony. “I and my staff always acted appropriately and professionally, therefore I completely disagree with the characterization of these events,” he said, adding that he is waiting for the an investigation by the Parliamentary ethics commissioner “to clear the air on this matter.”
Trudeau has been, as usual, very cautious with his word usage. During his statement on Wednesday, Trudeau used his favourite speaking style, sounding like he’s explaining to a naughty five-year-old why he can’t have ice cream for dinner. His sentences. End after. Two words.
Trudeau emphasized that the decision about how to handle the case rested with “Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jody Wilson-Raybould alone” and insisted that it was appropriate to consider the consequences of a criminal conviction for the company, which the government says would threaten 9,000 jobs.
If only Trudeau had been fighting half as hard for pipelines as he had for SNC-Lavalin, he might be forgiven.
The reaction
I thought the demand from Conservative leader Howdy Doody for Trudeau to resign was over the top. But that was just the beginning. The news media, which has been waiting for a chance to take St. Justin down a peg or two or three, went along with it.
Paul Wells in Macleans wrote: “What Jody Wilson-Raybould described today is a sickeningly smug protection racket and it should make us all question what we’re willing to tolerate.” The National Post’s hyperbolic crime groupie, Christie Blatchford, said the Trudeau government looked like a corrupt, Third World banana republic. The National Post and the Globe and Mail called for the government to resign and/or call an election. The Globe’s Margaret Wente went so far as to say that she is ashamed of her country (feel free to pack up and leave, Margaret). It’s also important to note that, despite the cries from some sectors to begin an RCMP investigation (the cover of the Edmonton Sun cried “CALL IN THE MOUNTIES!” with a photo of the Musical Ride), JWR herself has said there was nothing illegal done.
In Quebec, the story is a little different, of course. Mario Dumont, a TV personality and former leader of provincial party Action démocratique du Québec, took note Thursday morning of how Wilson-Raybould’s testimony was dominating English-language media. “Excuse me, I will re-ask the same question as last week, and the week before,” he said in French. “Our friends at the Globe and Mail and the National Post — would they be as severe and intransigent if we were talking about a firm whose headquarters was in Toronto?” Touche.
With all the hyperbole, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Trudeau and company wanted JWR to drop the charges against SNC-Lavalin. They did not. Trudeau was “suggesting” that JWR and the director of public prosecutions use a method called a deferred prosecution agreement, a DPA. Here’s an excellent Globe and Mail article about what a DPA is. If you don’t want to read it, basically it says that DPAs are used all around the world to punish major corporations and to keep them in line. The “deferred” part refers to the fact that prosecution can still proceed if the company doesn’t clean up its act.
So, may I dare suggest (and I do dare) that the decision to go to a criminal trial rather than a DPA was the wrong decision? But could it be that JWR was wrong? Maybe the smart thing to do was go with the DPA? And is it really so wrong, or unexpected, that Trudeau would go to bat for a major corporation in his home province? Just askin’.
Hey, I’m not defending Trudeau. I’m as sick of this guy’s act as anyone, and there is no doubt that his demotion of JWR was in retaliation for her refusing to budge on the SNC file, and that he and his minions went way over the line in trying to influence JWE. And there is no doubt that political considerations came into play here – but should anyone be surprised by that? A politician making decisions based on their personal political gain is as old as politics itself. Does this whole affair make Canada seem like a Third World banana republic? No, it makes Canada look like any other country, where big corporations get preferential consideration from government. Hardly a surprise.
Any way you look at it, JWR’s testimony has permanently sullied Trudeau’s choirboy reputation. It seems that, when it comes down to crass political decisions, Mr. Sunny Ways is still just a politician.
RIPA
Andre Previn 89, German-born American composer (Gigi, Elmer Gantry, My Fair Lady), four-time Oscar winner (1959, 1960, 1964, 1965). Here’s his New York Times obit … Katherine Helmond, 89, the grandmother (I think; I never watched the show) from the sitcom Who’s The Boss.
In This Corner 