Second resignation for Trudeau government keeps SNC-Lavalin problems on the high boil

The starting line up for "Team Trudeau" around the cabinet
table is getting a little thin, with the announcement today
from Jane Philpott, the President of the Treasury that she
has resigned from her post in cabinet

If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thought that a few weeks clear of the Parliamentary schedule would provide some distance from the SNC-Lavalin problems, he found out quickly today that this week may be just as challenging as that of last week.

Today, the Prime Minister received the resignation from of Jane Philpott from his cabinet, with the Minister of Treasury and Digital Government citing the treatment of former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould as one of the contributing factors to her decision.

Ms. Philpott delivered her notes for the public by way of her twitter feed this afternoon.

The decision of the minister who has been in cabinet since 2015 and held some major postings such as Indigenous Services and the Health portfolio, is being seen in Ottawa as an indication that the Prime Minister has suffered some extreme political damage as part of the fall out from the resignation of the former Justice Minister and Attorney General.

As we outlined last month, the Liberal strategy towards handling the political firestorm appeared to be one of trying to run out the clock on things, that perhaps in hopes that they could be able to pivot from the storm and get back to their message making.

In the days that followed the resignation of Ms. Wilson-Raybould the Trudeau government  announced  the resignation of the Prime Minister's principle secretary Gerald Butts, as the Liberals looked to try and get ahead of what has become an extensive political storm that shows no signs of dissipating.

The testimony of Jody Wilson-Raybould of last Wedensday
captured the media cycle out of Ottawa for days(photo screenshot from Parlvu website)

Last week in some remarkable testimony, Ms. Wilson-Raybould clearly came out of her session with the Justice Committee as a most impressive witness, as she recalled much of the background to the events that appear to have led to her ouster from the Justice portfolio.

The Treasury Board President's letter of today would seem to indicate that the Liberals will be facing more internal conflict now and that anything may be possible as far as scenarios moving into March.

Skeena-Bulley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen, was quick to his social media platforms this afternoon to express his shock at the latest political twist out of the national capital.

Mr. Cullen himself made news on Friday, when he announced his plans to step aside from the House of Commons and would not be seeking re-election this fall.

The House of Commons Justice Committee hearings will continue this week with sessions planned for March 6th,  you can follow up on their work here.

Our notes on federal politics from Ottawa can be found from our House of Commons Archive page.

Today's news will no doubt make for the current of dispatches from the national media through the day, you can check our political portal D'Arcy McGee later this evening to see how Ms. Philpott's resignation is registering around Parliament Hill.

We  normally have our archive complete by 11 PM.

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