The pace of news out of the Double-Hyphen Affair fallout slowed somewhat yesterday – finally – but there were incremental developments starting with yet another interview by Jody Wilson-Raybould, in which she was somewhat more categorial about her insistence that she would never try to have the prime minister direct her successor (and yet she kept saying she wouldn’t respond to anonymous leaks, even though this whole Affair was touched off by anonymous leaks to the Globe and Mail, and she responded to those). There nevertheless remains some incredulity at the notion that an issue that supposedly cuts at the heart of prosecutorial independence in this country could have been smoothed over with an apology. Also, apparently the Vancouver–Granville riding association is staying in place and not resigning out of protest, so that is also a significant development.

Meanwhile, SNC-Lavalin is going to appeal the decision that denied them judicial review of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to grant them a DPA. They’re saying that they have new evidence that has come to light during this whole Affair – things like information on when decisions that were taken that don’t line up with information that the company provided to the DPP, about conditions that supposedly weren’t met for eligibility, and what they consider an abuse of process. They’re not likely to get very far with the appeal, but it’s a lifeline for them nevertheless.

On another front, there is now a live debate in the Senate regarding Senator Pratte’s motion to create a special committee to look into the issues surrounding the Affair, particularly separating the Attorney General from the justice minister, as well as the role of remediation agreements. It’s fairly fraught in part because there are a lot of unknowns in what he is proposing, given that it would establish a special committee rather than go through one of the established committees, and its known quantities in terms of membership. Nevertheless, the fact that his proposal has defined aims that are less likely to be read as partisan will mean that it’s more likely to get the support of the Independents, which is what will be important in getting the needed votes.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau was in Toronto to announce funding for repairs to community housing stock (while being drowned out by white nationalists).
• Chrystia Freeland says that foreign interference in the upcoming election is likely, as well as announcing a media freedom summit in London this summer.
• Documents from Foreign Affairs show that the spat with Saudi Arabia meant that Canadian shipments were denied from ports, along with other retaliatory measures.
• Here’s a deeper exploration of the civil litigation directive for Indigenous people that Wilson-Raybould put into place before she was shuffled.
• Veterans Affairs sent a letter to the spouse of a still-living veteran that said the died and they had assistance available. Oops. There is now an investigation.
• Apparently Maxime Bernier’s party is already shedding candidates and volunteers.
• Colby Cosh gives a smack upside the head to this week’s Alberta leaders’ debate.
• Jennifer Ditchburn looks into how difficult it can be for MPs to show any independence when it’s policed heavily (especially by media).
• My weekend column digs into the outcomes from the Senate drama this week, and got some inside information on what went down, and how it’s being exploited.

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