I had this diagram in my head and needed to share, which you can see here on instagram. You can also read related posts with original charts and graphs at Annex A and Annex B on this topic. If you prefer listening to my vlogs, you can listen the introductory one here and a rebuttal vlog here on instagramtv. So let’s get started, 3 steps to understanding the SNC Lavalin scandal.
Step 1
(a) SNC lavalin gives $48 million dollars in bribes to Gaddafi’s Libyan regime to secure contracts
(b) gets caught, consequences include a loss of reputation, a ban of of securing world Bank contracts for 10 years, and possible criminal charges back home in Canada
Step 2 – Jody Wilson-Raybould wears two hats
(a) as attorney-general/top lawyer in the country, she is sworn to duty to be honest and fair, and finds SNC-Lavalin to be responsible for bribing officials abroad
(b) her second hat as Justice Minister, appointed by Prime Minister Trudeau means that she has obligations to his decisions and opinions too
(c) she proceeds with pressing with criminal charges, which conflicts with PM Trudeau’s desire for charging them with a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). She is doing everything right as attorney-general but everything wrong as a minister sitting in Trudeau’s cabinet.
Step 3
(a) Remember: Wilson-Raybould was a Justice Minister, but demoted to Veterans Affairs Minister for going against PM Trudeau
(b) she resigns from the new post, and no longer sits in cabinet (PM Trudeau’s inner circle of MPs)
(C) Jane Philpott is appointed as the new Justice Minister
(D) (not shown in diagram) Resignations tally 4. Philpott resigns too, in protest, which deeply embarrasses PM Trudeau. The four include Michael Wernick, clerk of the privy council (our nation’s top bureaucrat), Gerald Butts (PM Trudeau’s friend and advisor), Philpott, and Wilson-Raybould.
(E) NEW! Remember, both resigned from cabinet, but were still part of the liberal caucus as regular MPs, but not anymore, PM Trudeau and the rest of the liberal party dismissed them and are now independent MPs
Analysis: I see both sides, for both Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould. For Trudeau, SNC-Lavalin in Montreal was like former Prime Minister Harper’s oil and gas sector in Alberta. If I were Prime Minister in this situation, I would probably protect BC’s tech industry (except Amazon, who brings foreigners from abroad instead of hiring local Vancouverites and shuttles them to Seattle across the border because Canadian law is less restrictive than American immigration policies, but that is a blog post for another day). On the other hand, she did everything right as the Attorney-General (as she should) by upholding the law. Whether it is a Canadian multinational corporation like SNC Lavalin, this case demonstrates how even when justice strives to be blind, politics can create of world where shades of grey can be just as powerful. As I mentioned in my vlog here, I actually knew one of the key players who resigned, which is why I think it is important we be kind before judging. Whether it is someone we know in our everyday lives or a public figure in government, they are just like us and suffer hardships too- the difference is that theirs is public, which means that the embarrassment and setbacks are magnified too. What are your thoughts?
