His Record Catching Up With Justin Trudeau's Sunny Ways

"We spoke about our shared goals for our country and for this government."
" She confirmed for me a conversation we had this fall where I told her [then-Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould] directly that any decisions on matters involving the director of public prosecutions were hers alone."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Jody Wilson-Raybould attend a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa last month. Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister, announced on Tuesday she is quitting the federal cabinet. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Famously, when being interviewed about a newly-emerged item in the news that years earlier he had physically assaulted a journalist, then apologized by stating if he had known at the time that she was with a prestigious newspaper he would have acted with greater circumspection, he pardoned his behaviour by claiming there was nothing untoward to how he had behaved, though the woman accused him of manhandling her, because, in his words: 
"Obviously this is a situation that has been very much on my mind over the past few weeks. It's a issue that I have been deeply engaged with, not just as a leader, but all my life, since my early 20s in university ... active on issues around sexual assault and behaviours."
"I've been reflecting very carefully on what I remember from that incident almost 20 years ago and again, I am ... I feel I am confident that I did not act inappropriately."

"Part of this awakening we're having as a society, a long awaited realization, is that it's not just one side of the story that matters. That the same interactions can be experienced very differently from one person to the next."
"I am not going to speak for the woman in question. I would never presume to speak for her. But I know that there is an awful lot of reflection to be had as we move forward as a society on how people perceive different interactions."

Prime Minister Trudeau now has another issue with yet another woman. Jody Wilson-Raybould was elevated by him to the ministerial post she was summarily dismissed from several weeks ago and given a minor ministry instead. Another variance in perceptions at play. Where he insists that no one in his office nor did he 'direct' the-then Attorney-General to effectively exonerate SNC Lavalin from potential criminal convictions for corruption and bribery which would shut them out of government contracts for a decade instead of allowing them to admit guilt, pay a fine, claim to change their corporate culture and all would be well.

Instead, Jody Wilson-Raybould chose, in the name of fairness and justice, to do nothing, but to allow the law to proceed as it should and it must when the giant engineering and construction company was informed it would not be permitted to avoid a criminal trial, even though their strenuous lobbying of the government had resulted in the passing of deferred prosecution agreement legislation. The government's Prosecution Service was clear and adamant that justice be done, and the Attorney General agreed, placing her at odds with the government she served as minister of one of its most important portfolios.

Her replacement as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, David Lametti has been swift to deny that either he nor his predecessor had been 'directed' to give SNC Lavalin a free pass in an election year where thousands of its employees live and work in Trudeau's electoral riding in Montreal. "It is important to remember that while the attorney general sits at a certain distance from his cabinet colleagues, in Canada, unlike in other countries, he does not work in isolation from them", Mr. Lametti lectured at a Canadian Bar Association conference. "But there is a line that cannot be crossed. Telling the attorney general what a decision ought to be: that would be interference", he said, in support of the government, denying any effort to suborn him while leaving open the possibility he would choose to override the Public Prosecutor's decision.

How strange it is that a furtive, secretive campaign was launched by unnamed sources to cast doubt on the veracity and teamwork commitment, much less integrity of the former attorney general. Unnamed "insiders" speak of Jody Wilson-Raybould as "difficult to get along with", a woman who had "always sort of been in it for herself". On the other hand, those same sources infer, the patient and generous prime minister "still has confidence" in his former attorney general, despite the "damage" she was intent on blackening the government with "by allowing the speculation about alleged corruption to hang out there".

Discrediting the honesty and pointing out the evil designs of an adversary is an old, old tactic, one worthy of conspiracy theorists, certain to gain adherents among those refusing to contemplate that Justin Trudeau, who has failed in so many indices of competence and adherence to ethics, could be at fault for any reason speaks volumes about the man and his supporters. The dodgy way that the legislation bringing into law the provision for a remedial agreement whereby SNC Lavalin could neatly sidestep charges of fraud and corruption and accountability for both, also speaks volumes about a man who pledged his government would be transparent and open to the benefit of all Canadians.

Jody Wilson-Raybould ✔ @Puglaas

With a heavy heart I have submitted my letter of resignation to the Prime Minister as a member of Cabinet... https://jwilson-raybould.liberal.ca/news-nouvelles/statement-from-the-honourable-jody-wilson-raybould-member-of-parliament-for-vancouver-granville/ … 11:34 AM - Feb 12, 2019

Now, however, the other shoe has dropped. Jody Wilson-Raybould has announced she is stepping away from her ministerial position with Veterans Affairs, leaving the Liberal cabinet, but not her elected position as Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville. And, she advised the prime minister, who continues to "have confidence" in a woman whose appointment nicely balanced his commitment to gender parity in his cabinet, she is seeking legal advice from an expert she has consulted, to advise how she may within the law finally speak to the issue that has galvanized the country.

Power & Politics ✔ @PnPCBC

.@JustinTrudeau says he is surprised & disappointed by @Puglaas resignation. On SNC-Lavalin "Gov't of Canada did its job and to the clear public standards expected of them. If anyone felt differently they had an obligation to raise that with me. No one, including Jody, did that." 6:23 PM - Feb 12, 2019