Insiders believe Gerald Butts offered a credible counter-narrative that now allows the prime minister to say both sides thought they were doing the right thing
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will try to put the SNC-Lavalin affair behind him today by acknowledging mistakes were made and promising to do better in future.
Trudeau’s government has been reeling for the past month since allegations first surfaced that Wilson-Raybould was improperly pressured to stop a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin and was punished for her refusal to give in by being moved out of the justice portfolio to veterans affairs in an early January cabinet shuffle.
Butts testified before the House of Commons justice committee Wednesday, methodically and calmly rebutting explosive testimony from Wilson-Raybould the week before that she was relentlessly pressured last fall — and even received veiled threats about her future as justice minister — to intervene in the criminal trial of the Montreal engineering giant.
Butts countered that all they wanted was for Wilson-Raybould to seek a second opinion from an eminent retired judge so that the government could demonstrate it had seriously considered all legal options, given the jobs that were potentially at stake. He maintained all involved recognized that the final decision was the attorney general’s alone and no one crossed the line into applying inappropriate pressure.
Both former ministers have said they intend to continue as part of the Liberal caucus and both have been nominated to run again for the Liberals this fall. However, should they persist in saying they have no confidence in Trudeau’s government, the source said Liberal MPs would likely demand they be kicked out of caucus and Trudeau would refuse to allow them to run for the party again.
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