Roundup: Wernick calls out Wilson-Raybould

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Thursday in the SNC-Lavalin/Wilson-Raybould Affair was much more explosive, on a couple of fronts. First, the Globe and Mail reported that Jody Wilson-Raybould told Cabinet that she was improperly pressured, which raises some real questions as to who the Globe source is, and also raises the question as to why Wilson-Raybould didn’t resign in protest at the time. (It also said that SNC-Lavalin is threatening to relocate their headquarters to the UK, which would be the first company looking to move there in the midst of Brexit chaos). And then, after a forgettable appearance by David Lametti at the Commons justice committee, where he could not guarantee that the solicitor-client privilege issue would be solved by the time Wilson-Raybould appears at committee, Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick let blew up the media cycle, not only with his very frank introductory comments, but also his belief that not only did any improper pressure not happen (going so far as to call the original Globe story false and “defamatory”), but that none of this should be covered by Solicitor-Client privilege because it was not discussed in Cabinet, and no legal advice was given. (Full text here).

Wernick’s comments were praised by some, criticised by others – particularly the Conservatives – with a lot of concern trolling going on about the perception that they were partisan (despite the fact that Wernick praised both the Harper government’s work as well as Trudeau’s). As John Geddes points out, the testimony also gave a glimpse as to how he interacts with power in this city, going so far as to leave an NAC gala to avoid being near SNC-Lavalin executives.

In related news, it looks like Wilson-Raybould didn’t renew her law licence in BC in 2016, which could mean that she’s not a practicing lawyer, which might also invalidate her claim to solicitor-client privilege. The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ also tests Trudeau’s assertion that waiving solicitor-client privilege may impact the other two ongoing court cases involving SNC-Lavalin.

In pundit reaction, Susan Delacourt lays out how Wernick’s testimony is a direct challenge to the version of events that the Globe and Wilson-Raybould’s silence has allowed to develop, which puts pressure on Wilson-Raybould to confirm or deny his testimony. Jen Gerson doesn’t see Butts’ resignation as solving any of the Liberals’ problems. Robert Hiltz says that more than anything, this whole affair puts a lie to the government’s promise of being “real change” in doing politics.

Good reads:

  • Our ambassador to the US says the steel and aluminium tariffs could be lifted in weeks, while Marc Garneau says New NAFTA ratification could wait until they are.
  • At an announcement about women in trades, a union leader made comments about Patty Hajdu not looking fat in her pants to demonstrate their frank relationship.
  • The PBO said that in some cases the new veterans’ pension-for-life leaves them worse off; Sajjan disputed this, saying the new system is more comprehensive.
  • Here’s a lengthy read about the tension in some First Nations communities between hereditary leadership and democracy, and federal government complacency.
  • Trudeau’s Chief of Staff, Katie Telford, is named in a lawsuit by the former ambassador to Israel, citing “mental suffering” after her removal.
  • Senator Tkachuk refused to apologise for calling on the protest convoy to “roll over” Liberals, insisting it was just a figure of speech. Sure, Jan.
  • Two more NDP MPs, Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet and Anne Quach, have decided that they won’t run again this fall.

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Wernick calls out Wilson-Raybould”

  1. With a “scandal” based on an unnamed source by a conservative news outlet the conservatives, the party of fear lies and fakery still cannot believe that the chief bureaucrat in parliament has stated that there wasn’t pressure placed JWR. Thousands of rightwing uneducated trolls from Canada and I suspect from adversary countries have been howling for days and now have to face the fact that they rode a straw horse. It will be a tasty winter for the crows who will have lots of tory eyes to pluck out. I suspect that the complexity of the SNC Lavalin issue was extremely stressful for JWR and the pressure she felt was within herself which really is no sin but just part of her job. I think she didn’t have the fortitude for the decision she was required to make and somebody spilled a rumor to Fife who bit it hook, line and sinker. I can see how she perceived this to be a lifeline for face saving and she made a poor decision.

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