Something's Happening Here ...What It is Ain't Exactly Clear 

"It is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference and uphold the highest levels of public confidence."
"As such, it has always been my view that the Attorney General of Canada must be non-partisan, more transparent in the principles that are the basis of decisions, and, in this respect, always willing to speak truth to power."
Jody Wilson-Raybould, former Minister  of Justice

A Globe and Mail story Thursday said Jody Wilson-Raybould was shuffled from her portfolio after she refused to ask federal prosecutors to make a plea bargain deal with Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"At no time did I or my office direct the current or previous attorney general to make any particular decision in this matter [of the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavelin, Montreal]."
"The allegations in the Globe story this morning are false. Neither the current nor the previous attorney general was ever directed by me, or by anyone in my office, to take a decision in this matter."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an event at the Toronto Region Board of Trade in Toronto on Feb. 7, 2019.    Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail

"We engage with companies of all sizes from different regions and we want to hear their concerns, so I have no doubt that [SNC-Lavalin] probably raised the issue with my team or my officials."
"But again, our policies are designed to be agnostic to any one sector or any one company."
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Former SNC-Lavalin vice-president Normand Morin pleaded guilty to violating the Canadian election finance laws, related to a scandal where the company reimbursed its employees for the amount they donated to political parties. Over $117,000 was donated, most of it to the tune of $83,534 to the Liberal Party of Canada, along with $13,552 to Liberal riding associations,with an additional $12,529 to Liberal leadership candidates. Of the remainder less than $10,000 was donated to the Conservative party and its riding associations.

Clearly, as far as SNC-Lavalin is concerned as a corporate body out of Montreal, its best interests in accessing big-ticket public works projects is through the Liberal Party of Canada which has traditionally had its most solid voting base in that province. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is billions of dollars entrenched in federal contracts as its long history of building major infrastructure projects in Canada attests. Found guilty of a bribery and fraud charge, the company would by law be barred from bidding on federal contracts for a decade, to the point where even current contracts would be cancelled.

Charges under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act -- that SNC-Lavalin funnelled $48 million in bribes to Libyan government officials and the Gadhafi family for government contracts in Libya are yet to be resolved -- the case in preliminary hearings, no date for trial yet set. SNC-Lavalin is anxious to avoid conviction on any charges that would lock them out of the infrastructure program the government is rolling out to the tune of $186.7-billion to improve roads, bridges, clean power facilities and telecom lines. And the Liberal government reciprocally would be pleased to contract it.

When Canada's first female of Aboriginal descent was appointed to the important position of Attorney General of Canada, little did it occur to Justin Trudeau that he was placing an indomitable will to justice in that position, one who would be unbending in her fidelity to the responsibility bestowed upon her with that title. Her summary and surprising removal as Minister of Justice has now been explicated with the suspicion that her decision to continue the case against SNC-Lavalin in the best pursuit of justice did not sit well with her boss and his cronies.

According to Frederic Bastien, an analyst at Raymond James, SNC -- the employer of thousands of workers in Montreal where Justin Trudeau's Papineau riding is located, and where the coming federal election sees a critical need for Liberal support in Quebec -- the company has some $8.6 billion-worth of planned infrastructure projects mostly in Canada. "If they're found guilty, they're barred from bidding on federal contract jobs. It's very critical to the business that that doesn't happen. The bulk of the work that they do in Canada is for the government."

On March 27, 2018 Bill C-74, one of those omnibus budget bills, was introduced in Parliament. Within that bill was an item on remediation agreements, which passed into law three months later. Under a remediation agreement, corporations are permitted to pay a fine in lieu of criminal charges, allowing them then to continue business operations as usual under condition they then put in place corporate compliance measures. CEO Neil Bruce of SNC appealed to Ottawa to allow his company to make its case for a DPA.

The Director of the Public Prosecutions, Kathleen Roussel, makes the ultimate decision whether to pursue a remedial agreement, and SNC-Lavalin was informed in October of 2018 that negotiation of an agreement would not be extended to it. The criminal charges would proceed. For this, it would now appear, justice-minded Jody Wilson-Raybould was relieved of her position as Minister of Justice. And Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, steadily asserts neither he nor his office 'directed' the former minister to do other than her duty to Canada.

"It was a surprise in the sense of the possible depth of what could be a scandal. It’s no surprise to us that she stood up to it. That’s the type of person she is—very strong-willed and determined. While I have never been elected at that level, I do know what goes on up there [Ottawa]."
"It’s the same old, same old. I spent some time in Ottawa, though not as an elected official, so it’s not a surprise that these things happen. There’s huge money involved. If you look at SNC-Lavalin, they represent the lifeblood of Montreal and the surrounding area. The outgoing [CEO]…freely admits to …[millions]… in bribe money. It seems to be the way things are done."
"But if the PMO told her [daughter Jody Wilson-Raybould] that she should shut up about Indian Affairs and reconciliation, now you’re really talking about the violation of one’s integrity. The reality is that with Trudeau and this government, reconciliation is more a farce than the Conservatives. They’ve been dancing around the table, just as the old man [P.E. Trudeau] did with me."
Bill Wilson, Musgamagw hereditary chief, Campbell River, B.C.