Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP pulls no punches following Trudeau ruling from Ethics Commissioner

"Unbelievable, for months Mr. Trudeau has told Canadians he was "working with the Ethics Commissioner" and that he had done nothing wrong. Both of these were lies"  -- Strong comments from MP Nathan Cullen today, following the findings of the Ethics Commissioner as part of his review of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

Today's political headline out of Ottawa puts Prime Minister Justin Trudeau squarely in the spotlight, after a Report on the SNC-Lavalin Affair from the Ethics Commissioner Marion Dion found the Prime Minister in contravention of Section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act.

The  58 page report provided for an Executive Summary, as well as a detailed review of the concerns and process involved as part of the SNC-Lavalin affair.

The documentation also includes Findings of fact, the Position of Mr. Trudeau, the Analysis and Conclusions from the review, as well as the list of twenty witnesses who provided for in person interviews or written submissions for his work.

The Executive Statement for the Report highlights the  impact that Mr. Trudeau's actions during the SNC Lavalin process had and how he contravened the regulations.

Simply seeking to influence the decision of another person is insufficient for there to be a contravention of section 9. The second step of the analysis was to determine whether Mr. Trudeau, through his actions and those of his staff, sought to improperly further the interests of SNC-Lavalin.

The evidence showed that SNC-Lavalin had significant financial interests in deferring prosecution. These interests would likely have been furthered had Mr. Trudeau successfully influenced the Attorney General to intervene in the Director of Public Prosecutions' decision. The actions that sought to further these interests were improper since they were contrary to the Shawcross doctrine and the principles of prosecutorial independence and the rule of law.

The conclusion to the report, provides for the full scope of the Ethics Commissioner's concerns and the final details of his findings

I find that Mr. Trudeau used his position of authority over Ms. Wilson-Raybould to seek to influence her decision on whether she should overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions' decision not to invite SNC-Lavalin to enter into negotiations towards a remediation agreement. Because SNC‑Lavalin overwhelmingly stood to benefit from Ms. Wilson-Raybould's intervention, I have no doubt that the result of Mr. Trudeau's influence would have furthered SNC-Lavalin's interests. 

The actions that sought to further these interests were improper since the actions were contrary to the constitutional principles of prosecutorial independence and the rule of law. For these reasons, I find that Mr. Trudeau contravened section 9 of the Act

You can review the entire document here.

The report is vindication for former Liberal Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, who raised alarms over the interference on the SNC file by the Prime Minister's, subsequently resigning her position and then leaving the party as a result of the handling of the situation.

Shortly after its deliver, soon to be retired Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, had some sharp words for the Prime Minister following the delivery of the report, taking to his Social Media feeds to share his commentary on the findings of Ethic Commissioner Mario Dion.

Mr. Cullen was one of a number of Parliamentarians who had been part of the Justice Committee review of the SNC-Lavalin concerns, though he like many of the opposition members noted at the time that handling of the investigation by the Liberals left a lot to be desired.

After the release the Prime Minister accepted the findings, though perhaps not the conclusions and issued a statement on the theme of the day's events.

The key elements to his notes were:

“I thank the Ethics Commissioner for his important work. Our independent Parliamentary officers play a key role to ensure transparency and accountability at the federal level, and to uphold the institutions Canadians rely on. We fully cooperated with the Commissioner on this matter. 

The Commissioner took the strong view that all contact with the Attorney General on this issue was improper. I disagree with that conclusion, especially when so many people’s jobs were at stake. 

My objective was, and always will be, to stand up for people’s jobs and livelihoods across the country, while upholding the rule of law and respecting the role of the Attorney General. When thousands of jobs are on the line and communities stand to suffer, it is the government’s responsibility to stand up for them. 

That said, the buck stops with me, and I take full responsibility for everything that happened, and accept the report."

The ethics commissioner's ruling marks the second time that the Prime Minister has run afoul of ethics laws, in 2017 the previous Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson ruled that the Prime Minister's trip to Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas was a contravention of the act.

Some of the media coverage of the release of the Ethics Commissioner's report can be reviewed below:

'I take responsibility,' Trudeau says in wake of damning report on SNC-Lavalin ethics violation
Justin Trudeau 'takes responsibility for mistakes' violating conflict of interest law in SNC-Lavalin affair
Trudeau broke ethics rules by trying to exert influence in SNC-Lavalin scandal: report
Trudeau sought to influence Wilson-Raybould, violated ethics rules: ethics commissioner
Trudeau violated ethics law by pressing Wilson Raybould over SNC-Lavalin deal, ethics commissioner rules

We'll have more feedback on today's ruling as part of our Political Blog D'Arcy McGee later tonight.


To view the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.