“CORRUPTION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT”
#LSN_Opinion Spencer Fernando
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - February 7, 2019 (LSN) This is a potentially massive scandal. A bombshell report in the Globe & Mail alleges that the Trudeau PMO tried pressuring Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the corruption and fraud case against SNC-Lavalin. SNC-Lavalin is a powerful construction company based in Montreal.
Jody Wilson-Raybould refused, and was later removed from the justice minister post by Trudeau:
As noted by the Sun, “A week ago, former SNC-Lavalin CEO Pierre Duhaime pleaded guilty to what the Canadian Press described as “a charge of helping a public servant commit breach of trust for his role in a bribery scandal around the construction of a $1.3-billion Montreal hospital.”
Here’s an excerpt of the Globe & Mail article:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office attempted to press Jody Wilson-Raybould when she was justice minister to intervene in the corruption and fraud prosecution of Montreal engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., sources say, but she refused to ask federal prosecutors to make a deal with the company that could prevent a costly trial.
SNC-Lavalin has sought to avoid a criminal trial on fraud and corruption charges stemming from an RCMP investigation into its business dealings in Libya…
Sources say Ms. Wilson-Raybould, who was justice minister and attorney-general until she was shuffled to Veterans Affairs early this year, came under heavy pressure to persuade the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to change its mind.
Sources say officials from Mr. Trudeau’s office, whom they did not identify, had urged Ms. Wilson-Raybould, Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister, to press the public prosecution office to abandon the court proceedings.
Ms. Wilson-Raybould trusted the judgment of the public prosecutor and did not believe it was proper for the attorney-general to intervene, especially if there could be any suggestion of political interference, sources say…
Since the beginning of 2017, representatives of SNC-Lavalin met with federal government officials and parliamentarians more than 50 times on the topic of “justice” and “law enforcement,” according to the federal lobbyists registry. This includes 14 visits with people in the PMO.”
It would once again confirm that the Trudeau government only serves the well-connected elites, willing to interfere in the sacred independence of the judiciary in order to benefit the elitist corporate class, while the real Canadian People get screwed over on a daily basis.
This is certainly grounds for the end of this government, and an immediate election call.
By: Spencer Fernando