I would like to use this post to comment on one of the questions swirling around the resignation of Jody Wilson-Raybould, one that came up yet again on last night's At Issue panel:
Why did Wilson-Raybould wait until she was was moved to Veterans Affairs to resign from cabinet?
The implication of the question is that hers was a 'sour-grapes' resignation, not a principled one, since the time to resign was when she felt she was being pressured to change her mind about the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Indeed, early on in this scandal, Justin Trudeau cited her ongoing presence in the cabinet as evidence of her contentment, after which the former Justice Minister resigned.
I beg to differ. And I believe yesterday's testimony to the justice committee by Michael Wernick, the clerk of the privy council, sheds some light on this sordid episode; pertinent are three meetings in particular:
The first was a meeting on Sept. 17 between himself, the prime minister and Wilson-Raybould.Ergo, it is clear that Wilson-Raybould had made her decision not to direct the Public Prosecutor to offer SNC-Lavalin a DPA (deffered prosecution agreement). If we are to take Wernick's testimony at its face value, that should have been the end of the matter if, indeed, Trudeau said it were her decision alone.
... Wilson-Raybould told the prime minister that a deferred prosecution agreement “was not a good course and she had no intention of intervening,” Wernick recalled. In turn, the prime minister told Wilson-Raybould the decision to intervene in the case was hers alone, he said.
The next event he predicted Wilson-Raybould would raise was a conversation between her chief of staff and officials from the Prime Minister’s Office on Dec. 18. Wernick, however, said he was not there and is not aware of what transpired.Strangely, although Wernick claims no knowledge of the nature of the meeting, he predicts she will bring it up in her testimony.
Finally, Wernick highlighted his own conversation with Wilson-Raybould on Dec. 19. Wernick said he wanted to “check in” with her on SNC-Lavalin and the possibility of mediating the criminal charges against the company, as well as other legal issues before the government.Now, many will argue, as Wernick himself did, that there was nothing improper about these meetings and that he didn't consider them to constitute undue pressure. We all know that politics is a rough and tough arena, so that may well be. I do not have the expertise to make that assessment. But I do have some thinking ability, and here is where it has led:
“I conveyed to her that a lot of her colleagues and the prime minister were quite anxious about what they were hearing and reading in the business press about the future of the company, the options that were being openly discussed in the business press about the company moving or closing,” Wernick said.
Asked later if he pressured Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the case and halt the SNC-Lavalin prosecution, Wernick said no — he doesn’t believe he improperly pressured her.
“There’s pressure to get it right on every decision, to approve, to not approve, to act, to not act. I am quite sure the minister felt pressure to get it right,” he said.
“Part of my conversation,” he added, “was conveying context that there were a lot of people worried about what would happen, the consequences — not for her — the consequences for the workers in the communities and the suppliers.”
To return to the point I began with, the character-undermining question being asked is why Raybould-Wilson did not immediately resign if she felt she was being pressured to change her decision. My question (and answer) is, why would she?
She had remained firm in her conviction that SNC-Lavalin should receive no preferential treatment. She had received the assurance from Mr. Trudeau that the decision was hers alone. She successfully weathered pressure from both the PM and the PMO to change her mind. Presumably, she felt that she had prevailed in upholding her own principles in the matter, and the issue was closed. Until, of course, it wasn't.
On February 11, Wilson-Raybould tendered her resignation, mere hours after Trudeau publicly declared all was well, attested to by her ongoing presence in the cabinet. I suspect this assertion was the breaking point for Raybould-Wilson, that and the likely belief that her replacement as Justice Minister, David Lametti, would ultimately order a DPA.
In his testimony yesterday, Michael Wernick expressed his fears about the direction in which Canada is heading. He
told MPs he’s worried Canadians could lose “faith in the institutions of governance in this country.”As a citizen who loves Canada, I have the same fears. However, Messieurs Wernick and Trudeau should look to their own house as one source of this crisis of faith. Justin Trudeau came to office with great promises, including 'doing politics' in a new way.
In that, he would seem to have failed abysmally.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI decided to remove your comment, Anon, not because of your criticism of said blogger, but because of the way you phrased it. Please feel free to resubmit your perspective, but without the sexual reference.
DeleteI wonder if the former AG was not an indigenous person, and was not a woman, would any of this have ever come up?
ReplyDeleteIs it not possible that J W-R was just a poor AG and Trudeau moved her because he did not want to lose her from his cabinet?
The conservative MSM - and super ego Warren Kinsella - were looking for something to try to hammer the Liberals and distract from the non-existent Conservative platform and lousy performance of Scheer (as well as his coddling racist white-supremacists).
UU
Of course, what you said is a distinct possibility, UU; however, given the apparent double-dealing of Trudeau, first saying it was her decision and then bringing pressure to bear on her through the PMO and his own words, surely warrants further investigation. I feel justified in making the speculation I did because as a Canadian, it is my duty to be as engaged as possible in the politics of the country, and the question of whether or not justice is being subverted for political/commercial expedience.
DeleteMere hour? You carefully omitted the time from her acceptance of a new ministerial appointment and her resignation.
ReplyDeleteHere is what I wrote, rumleyfips:
Delete"On February 11, Wilson-Raybould tendered her resignation, mere hours after Trudeau publicly declared all was well, attested to by her ongoing presence in the cabinet. I suspect this assertion was the breaking point for Raybould-Wilson, that and the likely belief that her replacement as Justice Minister, David Lametti, would ultimately order a DPA."
Why didn't she immediately resign when she was shifted to Veterans Affairs? I can't answer that, except to speculate that she felt, as the first Indigenous woman in a senior cabinet position, she should try to carry on to make the road easier for others in the future. That she did finally resign suggests to me that she did not want to be used as political cover for the boss after his public attestation that all was well.
You're inference that Wilson-Raybould thought she had won the battle -- until she was removed -- seems pretty solid, Lorne. Unfortunately, all of this is an oft told tale.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is one that needs the full light of day shone upon it, Owen.
DeleteWernick has 37 years in as a public servant (and yes, we all take an oath). At this point he does not care, and I am glad that he stated things so clearly. Partisan maybe, but look to yourselves,O press gallery. I thought that JWR was a brilliant candidate, but who knows what goes on behind scenes.
ReplyDeleteJLS
Thanks for the perspective, JLS.
DeleteIf it wasn't for Andrew Scheer I would find this mildly amusing. For a while, not very long. Oddly enough JT's most ardent critic, the guy who coined the term "Lavscam," seems to be growing a bit forgetful in his advancing years. He seems unable to recall AdScam that resulted under the tenure of his idol, Jean Chretien, and set back the Liberal Party for a full decade.
ReplyDeleteYes, he does seem to be having a field day with this issue, Mound, and the memory of AdScam should be a sobering one for all.
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