Trudeau 'welcomes' ethics probe of alleged PMO interference in SNC-Lavalin case

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Whoopsies…again…The RCMP admitted Wednesday that it was wrong for the force to deny an access-to-information request to a democracy-watchdog group in May by claiming police were investigating the interference of senior Liberals in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, since the investigation had been dropped months earlier.

On Monday, Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher went public with a letter from the national police force denying a requested release of records concerning the SNC-Lavalin scandal. The reason the RCMP gave for refusing to release records to Democracy Watch was because it said there was a police investigation underway.
After the Public Prosecution Service of Canada denied requests by SNC-Lavalin to enter into a remediation agreement, senior Liberals, including the Prime Minister’s Office, pressured then attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to make a deal with the firm to help it avoid prosecution. She refused, and was shuffled out of her role, and later evicted from caucus… because it was 2015-ish.

While Canada’s ethics commissioner deemed in 2019 that Trudeau had broken federal ethics laws by improperly pressuring his former attorney general, questions swirled as to if the Mounties would conduct a criminal investigation into the matter.

When Conacher went public Monday with the information RCMP had given his group that an investigation was underway, the RCMP proceeded to ignore further media requests, including from National Post. In the early evening, the RCMP posted on social media that an investigation was not underway. Then late that night, it issued an official statement that there had been an investigation underway, but it had been dropped due to lack of evidence by January, months before Conacher made his request.

Two days after being asked to explain the discrepancy, RCMP spokesperson Marie-Eve Breton told the National Post that statement was made in “error.”
The easy way to get an answer is ask Raybould. She'll be free to talk about it.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Is she though? Even though she’s out from under the government thumb, would she still be limited in what she could say from her capacity while in government, and during that time frame?
She can say yes the investigation is over or no and she is free to say she has taken civil action and wont comment if it truly is over.
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
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Whoopsies…again…The RCMP admitted Wednesday that it was wrong for the force to deny an access-to-information request to a democracy-watchdog group in May by claiming police were investigating the interference of senior Liberals in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, since the investigation had been dropped months earlier.

On Monday, Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher went public with a letter from the national police force denying a requested release of records concerning the SNC-Lavalin scandal. The reason the RCMP gave for refusing to release records to Democracy Watch was because it said there was a police investigation underway.
After the Public Prosecution Service of Canada denied requests by SNC-Lavalin to enter into a remediation agreement, senior Liberals, including the Prime Minister’s Office, pressured then attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to make a deal with the firm to help it avoid prosecution. She refused, and was shuffled out of her role, and later evicted from caucus… because it was 2015-ish.

While Canada’s ethics commissioner deemed in 2019 that Trudeau had broken federal ethics laws by improperly pressuring his former attorney general, questions swirled as to if the Mounties would conduct a criminal investigation into the matter.

When Conacher went public Monday with the information RCMP had given his group that an investigation was underway, the RCMP proceeded to ignore further media requests, including from National Post. In the early evening, the RCMP posted on social media that an investigation was not underway. Then late that night, it issued an official statement that there had been an investigation underway, but it had been dropped due to lack of evidence by January, months before Conacher made his request.

Two days after being asked to explain the discrepancy, RCMP spokesperson Marie-Eve Breton told the National Post that statement was made in “error.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police declined to pursue a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions during the SNC-Lavalin affair in part because the federal police force was thwarted in a bid to get confidential cabinet materials, newly released documents show.

Absent those, the records show, the RCMP reviewed all publicly available materials, and conducted a handful of interviews before it ultimately came to the conclusion there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue a criminal probe. Among the reasons: the fact the former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould — who was at the heart of the incident — never alleged that what had happened was a crime.

“Given the current legislative framework, the overall assessment of the evidence, and the evidence threshold required for criminal conviction, it is believed there is insufficient evidence to support further investigative actions or a criminal prosecution,” reads the RCMP’s investigation report, obtained under Access to Information by the group Democracy Watch and shared with the Star.
The RCMP was assessing whether Trudeau broke the law in 2018 by pressuring Wilson-Raybould to permit SNC-Lavalin to negotiate a special settlement in a fraud and corruption case, which would allow the construction company to avoid a criminal prosecution. At issue at the time was a fear that there would be political fallout if the company ended up having to go to court.

After Wilson-Raybould refused, she was replaced as justice minister and attorney general in a subsequent cabinet shuffle, and eventually ejected from the Liberal caucus entirely.

The ethics commissioner at the time, Mario Dion, concluded in a 2019 report that Trudeau broke ethics laws in how the pressure was applied. Dion was also stymied by a refusal by the government to grant a broad waiver to cabinet confidences, although limited exemptions were given at the time.

It's the first time the national police force has officially confirmed that it's no longer probing the political scandal that rocked Parliament four years ago.

"The RCMP is not investigating allegations of political interference in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion to secure a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin," said RCMP spokesperson Christy Veenstra in a media statement Monday night.

The RCMP did not say who the original complainant was, although it was reported at the time of the scandal that then Conservative leader Andrew Scheer had written to the RCMP asking it to investigate any potential criminality on the part of the prime minister.

Back in 2019, the RCMP said it was reviewing the facts of the SNC-Lavalin affair "carefully."

That same year, the Globe and Mail reported that investigators' efforts were being hindered by the federal government's refusal to lift cabinet confidentiality.

The question of a criminal investigation re-emerged when Wilson-Raybould published a book in 2021 that said the RCMP was still considering whether to investigate Trudeau's government in the matter.

Conacher said the RCMP's story doesn't add up.

"They are contradicting themselves about when the allegations were being investigated, and when decisions were made to end the investigation," he told CBC.

"If the investigation is actually over, then why did the RCMP refuse to disclose 86 pages of their investigation documents just a few weeks ago because, they said, the allegations were under investigation?"

In 2019, then-ethics commissioner Mario Dion reported that the prime minister had "directly and through his senior officials used various means to exert influence" over Wilson-Raybould.

Dion found Trudeau contravened Section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act through a series of "flagrant attempts to influence" Wilson‑Raybould to reach an agreement with SNC-Lavalin to avoid criminal prosecution.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Came in an email today.​

Now, it has been confirmed that the RCMP is investigating contracts awarded under the ArriveCan App for criminality.

Fed gov’t hid RCMP investigation into ArriveCan app from auditor general
Western Standard | Oct 14, 2023
Not only was Canada’s Auditor General not told about the RCMP investigation, the Liberal-NDP coalition SHUT DOWN the Auditor General’s testimony after just 30 minutes.

We can’t let this get swept under the rug.
In those 30 minutes of the testimony, the evidence we heard was damning.
We now know that there are serious allegations of FRAUDULENT contract practices against the government and that government officials LIED in past hearings on this $54 million app scandal.

It is unacceptable that the Trudeau-Singh coalition attempted to cover this up.
The ArriveCan app is one of the worst and most blatant cases of wasteful government spending and taxpayer abuse.

How is it even possible for an app to cost taxpayers $54 million?
It’s clear the Liberal-NDP government is simply not worth the cost.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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I don’t even know what to say. Smells like people are starting to wake up & thank the deity of your choosing….
1697501574651.jpeg
This is from last week because I’m cooking supper and I don’t have time to look it up, but it gives an idea of which way the wind is blowing for this snapshot in time.

Meh, I’ll invest the 40 seconds to bring this current.
1697501786798.jpeg
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
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Tecumsehsbones

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Good. Considering Canadian Conservatives are somewhat to the left of American Democrats, be nice to have Canada move a little closer to us.

Here's a question, Ron. Whom do you think Pete Poo-lover would rather work with, if he becomes PM? Biden or Trump?
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
21,630
6,714
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Good. Considering Canadian Conservatives are somewhat to the left of American Democrats, be nice to have Canada move a little closer to us.

Here's a question, Ron. Whom do you think Pete Poo-lover would rather work with, if he becomes PM? Biden or Trump?
Honestly, I don’t think it will matter.

Whether America ends up with Trump or Biden or someone else born after 1940, whom do you thing they would rather deal with in Canada?