SNC-Lavalin affair shows, once again, no election plan can prepare for all events
5280 Comments
David Raymond Amos Methinks the Liberals must be Happy Happy Happy for a month or so N'esy Pas?
"The RCMP has not launched an official investigation and it will suspend its initial inquiries into the matter until after the federal election."
Kirk Miller Lol Wow...still going on this. Liberals trying hard to deflect this away...nothing happened, no crime, blah blah. It's sad how anyone could stand for this in the government - Liberal, Conservative...doesnt matter. If they wanted to do anything to any citizen what is stopping them...they believe they are above the law. Regardless of your political leanings...this reeks. If there was nothing there...Trudeau would waive the cabinet confidence and put this to bed and it would go away real quick. Anyone with half a brain can see that.
What some may not realize is his political career is over. The R C M P will continue this investigation. Get into whatever semantics you want...it was an investigation. He has been charged by a private citizen for obstruction of justice which has been accepted to be heard by the courts. If he doesnt win a majority...which he wont...no other party will prop him up to stop further investigations.
Face it...his shelf life has expired
Alfred Frey
Reply to @Kirk Miller: Why waive cabinet confidence when there's literally no crime to be found? We already know who said what to the AG. Everything else is gossip
Don Luft
Reply to @Kirk Miller:
Trudeau broke a principle of ethics but a very fine one. Apparently the principle is that the Atty.Gen can seek the opinion of the government but that the government is restricted in pushing it's opinion. This is a principle, not a law.
Dion noted a private interest to the company and a public interest in this matter, but decided to make his ruling based on the private interest to say Trudeau breached an ethics rule. He could just as easily considered the public interest as primary to exonerate him.
Another wonky ruling was on the Aga Kahn matter. It was OK for a politician to accept "gifts" from friends. Dion ruled the Aga Kahn was not a friend because they had not seen each other for a long time. For the last few years I've been meeting with friends I hadn't seen in over 50 years. They are still friends
Two of the ethics violations were merely technical errors related to disclosure and not significant matters. One case involved a couple of pairs of sunglasses and the other a mistake in the technical ownership of a villa, as being shares rather than proprietary.
Why anyone thinks these matters are paramount over what a party intends to do if elected beats the hell out of me.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Kirk Miller: Methinks if Trudeau The Younger wins the next mandate the RCMP will close the file much to the chagrin of many Canadians N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Don Luft: Yea Right
Don Cameron If there was nothing to the SNC affair, Trudeau could have ended this in a day by allowing full disclosure by all involved. He didn't. And so it drags on. Reminds one of the expression, 'where there is smoke, there is fire'.
Lloyd Jones Reply to @Don Cameron: Don it reminds me of ... 2006 - RCMP allege Liberal ministers involved in illegal insider trading as election begins, Harper wins, investigation evaporates. 2016 - FBI Days before a US election Director Comey against Justice Department rules announces new findings of privately held classified emails traced to Hillary Clinton on a laptop then announces it amounts to nothing. This becomes a major factor in Clinton's loss to Trump. Having inappropriately influenced the 2006 election, the RCMP would be correct to suspend this matter until after this one. Trudeau will be available for prosecution if needed. Otherwise they are open to charges of partisanship.
Lloyd Jones Reply to @George Alexander: Even Wilson-Raybould (a former Crown Prosecutor) said Trudeau broke no laws. AFAIK the RCMP have not said they have begun formal investigation into this matter and are only involved at the urging of the Conservatives who are arguably seeking partisan electoral advantage from it. Polls suggest most voters have already made up their minds. We'll see if Wilson-Raybould's book (due out soon) has much effect on a close election.
Lloyd Jones Reply to @James Holden: Companies this large are known for "supporting" political parties sympathetic to their business who might form government. SNC were caught illegally funneling donations to both the Liberal and Conservative parties through individuals. I guess they would regard this sort of thing a just a cost of doing business, like bribing Libyan officials to win contracts.
John Dunn Reply to @Lloyd Jones: The "bribing of Libyan officials" is standard practice in the real world. If you don't grease palms you don't get the work. That is the part that most Canadians do not understand about the rest of the world.
Dan Desormeaux Reply to @John Dunn: exactly, I've been saying that from the start.
John Dunn Reply to @John Dunn: I dealt with international business and let me assure you that this is the way business is conducted. Would anyone expect Gathafi to not require bribes. lol
David Raymond Amos Content disabled Reply to @Don Cameron: "And so it drags on."
Methinks this is interesting that another Wherry article has stayed open for comments for 3 days N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Methinks I struck another nerve N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Don Cameron: YUP
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Lloyd Jones: Yea Right
Kevan Cleverbridge (Hill 70) Canadians are sick and tired of being told untruths. This election will boil down to whether you believe Justin and whether you believe Justin has been a disaster in all other areas of governance. A competent and responsible government is all we want.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Kevan Cleverbridge (Hill 70): Methinks the awful truth is most folks are so disgusted by all the nonsense coming from all the politicians that they simply don't care anymore Hence the election result may surprise everyone N'esy Pas?
Jamie Gillis Really, CBC? First off, this isn't a news article. At best it's another so-called "analysis." But really, don't you think it's questionable to have the guy who has a new book out cheerleading for Trudeau and working hard to minimize anything associated to SNC writing supply objective journalism pieces on it now? We've heard enough from Wherry.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Jamie Gillis: Methinks you can expect hear a lot more for the next month or so N'esy Pas?
Charles M. Sendie What’s Justin Trudeau hiding? Give the RCMP full access!
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Charles M. Sendie: Methinks the RCMP don't need to seek permission to investigate a crime. If they were not so afraid of their politically appointed boss the job would already be done N'esy Pas?
Michael Kachmar I am flabbergasted with the obsession to defend Trudeau and the Liberals for the indefensible. Of course I am going to make another choice in the upcoming election, that is what you are supposed to do when exposed to such toxic leadership with its mixture of virtue-signaling, ethics violations, political interference, and nefarious expenditures that are with accountability.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Michael Kachmar: Methinks many folks just consider it more of the same old same old. Lest we not forget that not all that long ago after your hero Harper was found in contempt of Parliament he returned with his first and only majority mandate after decimating the Liberals. Then he really put it to us with his omnibus bills. While the NDP yipped and the Liberals came up with a plan. Harper was history once the King of Selfies courted the feminist and far left vote while promising to legalize dope, no more first past the post elections and an open and accountable government Peoplekind seemed happy happy happy for a while until a couple of powerful lady cabinet ministers staged a palace coup of sorts with the help of the Globe and Mail Now we have an interesting Circus unfolding it's tent N'esy Pas?
Graeme Scott It seems like there is still more to the SNC Lavalin affair yet come out. The fact that the Liberals are continuing to stonewall and hide behind cabinet confidentiality supports that view. The CBC (and the rest of Canada's media) would be doing a disservice to the country if they allow Trudeau to "move on" to other issues without pressuring him for answers.
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Graeme Scott: Methinks Senator Mike Duffy and many other politcal pundits would agree that the fat lady has sung on the matter and after polling day most folks will not care about it anymore no matter who wins the mandate N'esy Pas? Rob Unrau Justin won’t allow full excess to rcmp because he has something to hide.
Stephen Scg Reply to @Rob Unrau: Except that the RCMP is not bound by cabinet confidentiality
David Raymond Amos Reply to @Stephen Scg: Methinks that is correct However everybody knows the RCMP Bosses are afraid of political lawyers such Ralph Goodale in particular N'esy Pas?
Nicolas Krinis I listened to him yesterday. I have never heard so many meaningless platitudes coming out of the mouth of a politician, ever. On the other hand, I did very much enjoy how he was put on the spot and hot seat repeatedly. Disgraceful.
James Holden
Reply to @Nicolas Krinis: We know you prefer Conservative bait and switch pandering.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Nicolas Krinis: It was quite a hoot
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @James Holden: Methinks the liberals' fancy knickers are in a quite a knot now matter how you spin it you cannot deny that your leader's words were truly a telling thing to many N'esy Pas?
Michael Flinn
The only people who thought/hoped SNC had gone away were partisan Liberals like the CBC.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @michael flinn: True
SNC-Lavalin affair shows, once again, no election plan can prepare for all events
As Justin Trudeau found out on Day 1, campaigns are subject to unforeseen complications
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau talks to media at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Political campaigns do not occur within hermetically sealed containers and elections are never perfectly simple comparisons of leaders and platforms. Events intervene. Things come up. Choices become complicated.
So it was that Day 1 of the 43rd general election campaign began with a story from the Globe and Mail claiming that unidentified individuals were somehow limited by cabinet confidentiality in what they could say to the RCMP about the SNC-Lavalin affair. Hours later, the day ended with a report that Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former attorney-general, spoke with the RCMP on Tuesday.
The initial report ensured that the first question Trudeau heard at Rideau Hall on Wednesday concerned the affair. The second report surely ensures that he will be asked again about the issue when he meets reporters on Thursday.
The election of 2019 will be about a great many things and many great things. And the SNC-Lavalin affair was always bound to hang over the proceedings to some degree or another. But Wednesday's revelations leave an uncomfortably open question to linger, one that Trudeau's rivals will no doubt be happy to exploit.
More questions raised than answered
The Globe's stories raise more questions than are answered, particularly as it pertains to how cabinet confidence is being invoked in this case. It is unclear who is claiming that confidence, to which discussions they are applying it or even how that confidence is being defined.
According to the Globe, the RCMP has not launched an official investigation and it will suspend its initial inquiries into the matter until after the federal election.
During her committee testimony in the spring, Wilson-Raybould, now seeking election as an independent in Vancouver-Granville, said she did not believe a criminal offence had been committed.
And the ethics commissioner is required by law to "immediately suspend an examination" if he "believes on reasonable grounds" that an offence has been committed. That commissioner Mario Dion completed his investigation would suggest that he did not believe any part of the affair rose to the level of a crime.
But the RCMP's view has now been raised as an unresolved matter and, crucially, that is something that won't be definitively resolved until sometime after October 21.
CBC News
Trudeau responds to questions over SNC-Lavalin affair
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he respects the decision the Privy Council Clerk made over the SNC-Lavalin affair during a news conference at Rideau Hall Wednesday.
This might raise uncomfortable memories of 2006 for the Liberals, but also for the Mounties, who apparently sat down with Wilson-Raybould when an election call was imminent. But the Conservatives and New Democrats are unlikely to reserve judgment or tiptoe delicately around the legal nuances.
Trudeau's response on Wednesday was to be as succinct as possible. "We gave out the largest and most expansive waiver of cabinet confidence in Canada's history," he said.
Trudeau cannot resolve that now. Even if he was persuaded to extend the waiver, the RCMP's inquiries would presumably remain paused.
Trudeau can try to shift the subject
The Liberal leader can only insist on continuing to talk about the things he would rather talk about: the middle class, climate change, and the various things his government managed to do when it wasn't worrying about the fate of SNC-Lavalin.
He tried to do that on Wednesday and he will try again on Thursday. If there is not another story in the Globe and Mail tomorrow or the next day, Trudeau might not be hearing questions about the SNC-Lavalin affair by the start of next week.
Insofar as these questions have already consumed some amount of precious time and headline space, this likely already registers as some kind of setback. Every campaign will be challenged with some number of intrusions — on Wednesday, reporters were also keen to hear the federal leaders comment on Quebec's Bill 21. But some will be more bothersome than others.
CBC News
Scheer calls on Trudeau to waive cabinet confidentiality
Convervative Leader Andrew Scheer called on Justin Trudeau to waive cabinet confidentiality today over the SNC-Lavalin affair while answering questions before the Trudeau called the federal election Wednesday.
The campaign will find other concerns. Other things will come up. Thursday is another day and there will be another 38 days after that.
Generally speaking, the campaign that spends the most time talking about what it wants to talk about stands the best chance of winning. The SNC-Lavalin affair might be given new life and it might now linger throughout. But if it fades from the forefront, the Liberals will have some number of days to talk about other thing
Trudeau broke a principle of ethics but a very fine one. Apparently the principle is that the Atty.Gen can seek the opinion of the government but that the government is restricted in pushing it's opinion. This is a principle, not a law.
Dion noted a private interest to the company and a public interest in this matter, but decided to make his ruling based on the private interest to say Trudeau breached an ethics rule. He could just as easily considered the public interest as primary to exonerate him.
Another wonky ruling was on the Aga Kahn matter. It was OK for a politician to accept "gifts" from friends. Dion ruled the Aga Kahn was not a friend because they had not seen each other for a long time. For the last few years I've been meeting with friends I hadn't seen in over 50 years. They are still friends
Two of the ethics violations were merely technical errors related to disclosure and not significant matters. One case involved a couple of pairs of sunglasses and the other a mistake in the technical ownership of a villa, as being shares rather than proprietary.
Why anyone thinks these matters are paramount over what a party intends to do if elected beats the hell out of me.