The Master Manipulator's Voice : Miscommunication

"The fact that the company [Montreal-based engineering-construction corporation SNC-Lavalin] involved employs so many people across the country heightened the public importance of the matter."
"That was the entirety of our advice to the attorney general [ex-attorney general Jody Wilson-
Raybould], which we made clear she was free to accept or not."
"We respected the attorney general's authority at all times and did our jobs with integrity at all times."

Gerald Butts, former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

"The prime minister asked me to help out to find a solution here for SNC, citing that if there is no DPA [deferred prosecution agreement], there would be many jobs lost and that SNC would move from Montreal."
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould

"Unfortunately, the evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former attorney general to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts have raised serious concerns for me."
"The solemn principles at stake are the independence and integrity of our justice system. It is a fundamental doctrine of the rule of law that our attorney general should not be subjected to political pressure or interference regarding the exercise of her prosecutorial discretion in criminal cases. Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised."
Resignation letter, Treasury Board Minister Jane Philpott

"It does seem remarkably tone-deaf on the part of the government if they really were harping [on Wilson-Raybould] to this extent, knowing full well what the law says."
"If the OECD determined that Canada was making prosecutorial decisions for economic reasons] we would risk that Canadian companies would not get the benefit of equivalent provisions in other OECD countries, chiefly the U.S. and the U.K."
Jennifer Quaid, expert on corporate criminal liability, University of Ottawa

"It may not violate the Criminal Code, but it violates the rule of law. You're trying to influence [Wilson-Raybould] to make a decision based on a factor that has already been taken off the table."
"[Wilson-Raybould appears to have been counselled to consider something] explicitly prohibited."
Law Professor Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, University of British Columbia

Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould prepares to testify before a justice committee hearing on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on February 27, 2019. LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images

Under section 715.32(3) of the Criminal Code it is forbidden for prosecutors to consider the "national economic interest" when it comes to the determination whether to grant certain deferred prosecution agreements, and certainly in the case of SNC-Lavalin that would apply. Yet the former attorney general of Canada testified under oath before the Commons Justice Committee that she was explicitly informed she was expected to seek a DPA for the company related to potential "jobs lost".

It was Justin Trudeau's very own government that brought this new measure outlining the "national economic interests" measure into the Criminal Code. The text is taken directly from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Anti-Bribery Convention, signed and ratified by Canada, as a member of the OECD which monitors compliance. Any contravention of 715.32(3) while constituting a breach of a Criminal Code provision also affects Canadian participation in an international agreement designed to quash judicial favouritism of a country's corporations.

The independent public prosecutorial office reporting to the Minister of Justice had determined that it would not offer a DPA to SNC-Lavalin, and prepared to continue with a criminal trial relating to the construction company's $48-million bribery of Libyan officials to ensure it had entry to construction contracts in Libya. The officials in the Prime Minister's Office harried and hounded the attorney general to overturn the decision of the director of public prosecutions in the interests of 'saving jobs' at SNC-Lavalin which would be disciplined if found guilty at trial by being disqualified for a decade from pursuing government contracts.

The Attorney General refused to bend to requests directly from the Prime Minister, from his office staff, from the clerk of the Privy Council and others, including the Finance Minister, to alter her decision in favour of SNC-Lavalin's request for a deferred prosecution which would allow it to pay a fine, promise to reform its culture of corruption, and continue to compete for government contracts.
The Prime Minister then levied a fine of discipline upon his Minister of Justice, removing her from that post and moving her to head a less visible and vital ministry.

Now the Liberal government denies any such pressure having been placed on Wilson-Raybould; it was all just an unfortunate misunderstanding. A miscommunication that can occur when people talk past one another. All the times that the attorney general stated she was determined to ensure that justice prevail and she would under no circumstances change her mind and to please stop harassing her and her staff, appear not to have been noticed by those pressing her.

As for her surprise dismissal from her post as Minister of Justice, it had nothing whatever to do with the SNC-Lavalin affair; purely coincidental. As Prime Minister Trudeau said, when he was confronted with a charge that he had sexually manhandled a reporter years ago, people experience events differently. And as his principal secretary Gerald Butts said on this more recent occasion, no one is guilty of anything, we all just experience events differently.

Don't we just....