WINNIPEG, Manitoba/OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, facing a political crisis, on Tuesday said he was surprised his veterans affairs minister quit amid allegations she had been pressured to go easy on a major firm when she was justice minister.

FILE PHOTO: Newly appointed Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould signs a book after Trudeau's cabinet shuffle, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle/File Photo

Trudeau told reporters that Jody Wilson-Raybould had not raised any concerns with him about how Ottawa was handling the case of construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc, which is seeking to avoid a corruption trial because the executives accused of wrongdoing have left the company and it has overhauled ethics and compliance systems.

The Globe and Mail reported that people in Trudeau’s office tried to lean on her last year to allow the company to escape with a fine instead. Trudeau has denied the report.

Wilson-Raybould said in a letter to Trudeau earlier in the day she was leaving “with a heavy heart” but gave no reasons.

“Frankly, I am both surprised and disappointed by her decision to step down,” Trudeau told reporters in Winnipeg, insisting the Liberal government had done nothing improper.

“If anyone felt differently they had an obligation to raise that with me. No one, including Jody, did that,” Trudeau added.

The affair could dent Liberal chances in what looks to be a tightly fought election this October.

Wilson-Raybould, who the Globe and Mail said had ignored the pressure to go easy on SNC-Lavalin, was demoted from the justice ministry last month.

In her letter to Trudeau, she stated “many Canadians wish for me to speak on matters that have been in the media” and revealed she had hired a top lawyer to advise her on how much she could say.

The resignation is the second blow for Trudeau in two days over the affair. Independent ethics commissioner Mario Dion said on Monday he was probing possible wrongdoing by top officials.

“This is bigger trouble for the government than almost anything else that has come along so far,” said Richard Johnston, a professor at the University of British Columbia and an expert in public opinion and election.

Opinion polls show Trudeau’s Liberals have a slender lead over the official opposition Conservatives.

“Mr. Trudeau’s ethical lapses and his disastrous handling of this latest scandal have thrown his government into chaos,” said Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

In 2017, Trudeau apologized after the office of the ethics commissioner said he had broken conflict-of-interest laws by accepting a vacation on a Bahamas island owned by the Aga Khan, an Ismaili religious leader.

Wilson-Raybould, 47, appointed justice minister when Trudeau came to power in November 2015, is one of the most prominent aboriginal politicians in federal politics.</s>OTTAWA — Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould is quitting the federal cabinet days after allegations became public the Prime Minister’s Office pressured the former justice minister to help SNC-Lavalin avoid criminal prosecution.

In a letter published on her website Tuesday, Wilson-Raybould says she has hired former Supreme Court judge Thomas Cromwell to tell her what she can say about “matters that have been in the media over the last week.”

Wilson-Raybould’s letter does not say exactly why she’s quitting. It does say she will continue to serve as MP for the riding of Vancouver-Granville.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office says Wilson-Raybould told the prime minister Monday night of her intention to resign from cabinet. Trudeau informed the rest of his cabinet Tuesday morning about her decision.

One of Trudeau’s spokespeople says Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will take over the veterans-affairs portfolio temporarily.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he sent a letter to Trudeau calling on him to see that any documents related to the SNC-Lavalin affair are preserved.

“With Ms. Wilson-Raybould’s resignation from cabinet, and a cabinet shuffle imminent, it’s absolutely imperative that Mr. Trudeau ensure the preservation of these records,” Scheer said in a statement. “Canadians deserve to know the truth around what happened and these records must be preserved.”

Both leaders have public appearances scheduled later Tuesday — Trudeau in Winnipeg and Scheer in Fredericton.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on the Liberals to support a push at the House of Commons justice committee to look into the allegations that appear to have led to Wilson-Raybould’s resignation.

“If Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government shut the justice committee’s work down, it would send a dangerous signal to Canadians about the state of our democracy,” Singh said in a statement. “Justin Trudeau must be transparent and we will continue to push his government to make sure Canadians receive the answers they deserve.”

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported last week that Trudeau or his staff pressured Wilson-Raybould to arrange a deal with SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal engineering and construction giant, that would have let it avoid a criminal prosecution on allegations of corruption and bribery in relation to its efforts to win government contracts in Libya.

Since then, Trudeau has denied he did any such thing. On Monday, he said in Vancouver that he’d told Wilson-Raybould that any decision on the subject was hers alone.

Trudeau also said he had “full confidence” in Wilson-Raybould and suggested she would have resigned from cabinet on principle if she had felt anyone had tried to improperly pressure her.

“In our system of government, of course, her presence in cabinet should actually speak for itself,” he said following a housing announcement — one that Wilson-Raybould didn’t attend, unlike a handful of fellow Liberals from the city.

Last month, Trudeau moved Wilson-Raybould out of the justice portfolio in a cabinet shuffle brought on by former minister Scott Brison’s departure from politics, elevating David Lametti as her replacement. Wilson-Raybould moved to Veterans Affairs.

In her letter, the MP says that her decision “is in no way a reflection” on veterans, their families or their service. “I only wish that I could have served you longer,” she writes.

“When I sought federal elected office, it was with the goal of implementing a positive and progressive vision of change on behalf of all Canadians and a different way of doing politics,” the letter says. “My resignation as a minister of the Crown in no way changes my commitment to seeing that fundamental change achieved. This work must and will carry on.”

She thanks her staff, officials and Canadians who supported her while in cabinet.

“Regardless of background, geography, or party affiliation, we must stand together for the values that Canada is built on, and which are the foundation for our future,” she writes.</s>By Lynda Powless Editor With CP Files VANCOUVER BC- A political bombshell hit the Trudeau government Tuesday morning when former Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet. Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould will continue to sit as an MP but announced her resignation just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the media not 24 hours earlier that “her presence in cabinet speaks for itself.” Wilson-Raybould tweeted out her resignation Tuesday. The resignation comes amid questions about whether Trudeau or anyone in his office tried to have Wilson-Raybould abandon the prosecution of a case against SNC-Lavalin when she was justice minister and attorney general. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an emergency cabinet meeting for Tuesday morning, though most ministers are in their ridings or fanned out across the country, so many will be…

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page</s>1. Jody Wilson-Raybould was veterans minister for only 29 days after she was demoted from justice minister in a cabinet shuffle sparked by Scott Brison’s retirement last month.

2. The former minister thanks all Canadians, but she does not specifically thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose office is accused of pressuring her to abandon the prosecution of a case against SNC-Lavalin. By contrast, Brison’s resignation letter glowingly mentions Trudeau seven times.

3. Wilson-Raybould says a lot of thank-yous but at no point does she actually explain why she is resigning.

4. Due to her former role as attorney general, Wilson-Raybould says she can’t comment on the SNC-Lavalin accusations because she is “bound by solicitor-client privilege.” Some experts say Trudeau could waive that privilege if he were so inclined.

5. In her farewell letter after the cabinet shuffle in January, Wilson-Raybould wrote that one of the values she treasures is a justice system “free from even the perception of political interference.”

6. Puglaas is Wilson-Raybould’s Indigenous name. It was given to her as a child by her grandmother and means “a woman born to noble people.” It is notable that she chose to sign with that name, which she didn’t do in her farewell letter as justice minister.

With a heavy heart, I am writing to tender my resignation as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.

I want to thank all Canadians, and in particular the residents of Vancouver-Granville, who put their trust in me and supported me as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. When I sought federal elected office, it was with the goal of implementing a positive and progressive vision of change on behalf of all Canadians and a different way of doing politics. My resignation as a Minister of the Crown in no way changes my commitment to seeing that fundamental change achieved. This work must and will carry on.

To Canada’s Veterans and their families: I have the deepest admiration and respect for you. This decision is in no way a reflection of my desire to see your service and sacrifice upheld and honoured. I only wish that I could have served you longer.

To my officials and ministerial staff: thank you for your hard work in the service of all Canadians. I am truly grateful for all that you have done and will continue to do.

I am aware that many Canadians wish for me to speak on matters that have been in the media over the last week. I am in the process of obtaining advice on the topics that I am legally permitted to discuss in this matter and as such, have retained the Honourable Thomas Albert Cromwell, CC as counsel.

Again, my thanks to all Canadians. Regardless of background, geography, or party affiliation, we must stand together for the values that Canada is built on, and which are the foundation for our future.

I look forward to continuing to serve as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville.
• Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former justice minister, resigns from federal cabinet
• John Ivison: Just another day at the office for a government that looks increasingly grubby</s>OTTAWA Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould is quitting the federal cabinet days after allegations became public the Prime Minister's Office pressured the former justice minister to help SNC-Lavalin avoid criminal prosecution.

In a letter published on her website Tuesday, Wilson-Raybould says she has hired former Supreme Court judge Thomas Cromwell to tell her what she can say about "matters that have been in the media over the last week."

Wilson-Raybould's letter does not say exactly why she's quitting. It does say she will continue to serve as MP for the riding of Vancouver-Granville.

MORE: Here's your primer on the SNC-Lavalin drama in Canadian politics

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported last week that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his staff pressured her to arrange a deal with SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal engineering and construction giant, that would have let it avoid a criminal prosecution on allegations of corruption and bribery in relation to its efforts to win government contracts in Libya.

Since then, Trudeau has denied he did any such thing. On Monday, he said in Vancouver that he'd told Wilson-Raybould that any decision on the subject was hers alone.

Trudeau also said he had "full confidence" in Wilson-Raybould and suggested she would have resigned from cabinet on principle if she had felt anyone had tried to improperly pressure her.

"In our system of government, of course, her presence in cabinet should actually speak for itself," he said following a housing announcement — one that Wilson-Raybould didn't attend, unlike a handful of fellow Liberals from the city.

Last month, Trudeau moved Wilson-Raybould out of the justice portfolio in a cabinet shuffle brought on by former minister Scott Brison's departure from politics, elevating David Lametti as her replacement. Wilson-Raybould moved to Veterans Affairs.

In her letter, the MP says that her decision "is in no way a reflection" on veterans, their families or their service. "I only wish that I could have served you longer," she writes.</s>Jody Wilson-Raybould's journey from Indigenous leader, to Liberal candidate, to minister of justice, and now backbencher has been high-profile and closely watched by both First Nations and members of Parliament.

Along the way, she changed the way judges were appointed, passed key legislation and made some fiery speeches that revealed her frustration with the pace of reconciliation efforts.

Here's a look at some key dates in Wilson-Raybould's federal political career.

The Assembly of First Nations British Columbia regional chief is acclaimed as the Liberal Party of Canada's candidate to run in the 2015 federal election for the riding of Vancouver-Granville.

Her decision to run for the Liberals was welcomed by the party including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's now Principal Secretary Gerry Butts who took to Twitter to say: "So excited to get the chance to work with Jody Wilson-Raybould."

Former Crown prosecutor Wilson-Raybould is sworn in as Canada's first Indigenous justice minister. Her appointment is welcomed by Indigenous leaders across the country.

"I think given her experience at the AFN level as well as being our regional chief for many years and her legal background will serve her very well," said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, leader of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.

The Liberal government's much debated and sometimes criticized assisted dying bill receives royal assent.

Wilson-Raybould and then Health Minister Jane Philpott worked on the legislation together and released a joint statement after the bill passed the Senate.

Wilson-Raybould announces changes to the judicial appointments process as she works to fill a backlog of empty judge positions across the country.

Bill C-16 that updated the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to include the terms "gender identity" and "gender expression" passes in the Senate.

Wilson-Raybould gave a speech to the Assembly of First Nations on the challenges and opportunities for reconciliation.

"I would expect some of you to be sceptical. Some of you may not believe that this is actually happening," she told Indigenous leaders.

"To those of you who would think this way, I can tell you under the leadership of our Prime Minister and from the perspective in my seat, it is happening, but I also know that the potential of this moment will only be realized if you help advance it, fight for it, and are deeply involved and driving the change."

The Liberal government changes impaired driving laws to introduce the first roadside oral screening test for cannabis as part of the move towards the legalization of recreational marijuana.

During a speech at the University of Saskatchewan, Wilson-Raybould expressed her frustration with the pace of reconciliation efforts.

"So, while I have been thrilled in recent years to see how Canadians – and governments – have begun to talk the talk of reconciliation. I remain constantly, incessantly, vigilant in demanding that we honour the meaning of these important words, and that words translate into real, transformative action," she said.

"For my part and to be very candid, I have been challenged, but I also challenge constantly. And I will continue to do that every day I have the privilege to be the minister of justice and attorney-general of Canada."

SNC-Lavalin revealed the federal government had decided not to allow the engineering firm to settle allegations of foreign bribery out of court.

A legal cloud has been hanging over the company since 2015 due to allegations that some of its former employees paid bribes to officials in Libya to influence government decisions and win contracts prior to 2012.

Bill C-45, Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott's cannabis legalization legislation, became the law of the land. The legislation made it legal to consume recreational cannabis across the country. The legislation was a key plank of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 2015 election platform.

Wilson-Raybould's changes to sexual assault legislation, Bill C-51, received royal assent. The legislation updated sexual assault laws so that an unconscious person cannot legally consent to sex.

The legislation also removed a number of redundant, or zombie laws, on the books that policed acts such as witchcraft.

During a high-level speech in B.C. to an audience including the province's premier, the provincial cabinet and Indigenous leaders, Wilson-Raybould again showed her frustrations with the Liberal government's reconciliation efforts.

"Thinking that good intentions, tinkering around the edges of the Indian Act, or that making increased financial investments — however significant and unprecedented — will in themselves close the gaps, is naive. Transformative change and new directions are required," she said.

Wilson-Raybould is shuffled out of her position as minister of justice and given the lesser cabinet position of minister of veterans affairs. Shortly after her demotion, she published a 2,000 word post on her MP website detailing her achievements and her approach to government.

"It has always been my view that the Attorney General of Canada must be non-partisan, more transparent in the principles that are the basis of decisions, and, in this respect, always willing to speak truth to power. This is how I served throughout my tenure in that role," she wrote.

The Globe and Mail published a report that the Prime Minister's office attempted to put pressure on Wilson-Raybould to intervene in SNC Lavalin case.

In a letter that thanked her constituents, staff and officials, Raybould said she was stepping down from cabinet but was looking forward to serving her constituents as a member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville

"I am aware that many Canadians wish for me to speak on matters that have been in the media over the last week. I am in the process of obtaining advice on the topics that I am legally permitted to discuss in this matter as such, have retained the Honourable Thomas Albert Crompess, CC as counsel."</s>There may or may not be a commission of inquiry into the grave allegation that PMO officials put heavy pressure on Jody Wilson-Raybould when she was Justice Minister and Attorney General to help Quebec-based SNC-Lavalin secure deferred prosecution; then, when she refused, she was demoted to Veterans Affairs. We don’t know. There may or may not be a shoe store of shoes yet to drop. We don’t know. Questions swirl in the vacuum of silence and absence of anything approaching clarity, their answers unknown. What we do know is this: the allegation involving Jody Wilson-Raybould and its aftermath has effectively kneed the Liberal government where it hurts the most—squarely in its Real Change™ optics.

Given Wilson-Raybould’s former central placement in Sunny Ways™ imagery—the optimistic, photogenic promise of Real Change™ in gender equality, reconciliation, climate change, governance and transparency, even how MPs are elected—this is a serious blow for the government, even a possible coup fatal.

Wilson-Raybould was B.C. regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations when recruited to run for office by Justin Trudeau in 2013. The former Crown prosecutor was a star candidate, a “get.” Her cabinet appointment acquired a political fairy-tale destiny after a 1983 video went viral featuring her father, then B.C. Chief Bill Wilson, and then prime minister Pierre Trudeau at a Constitutional conference. Wilson spoke proudly of his two girls wanting to become lawyers and, one day, prime minister. “Both of whom are women,” he said to laughter; after all, it was 1983; electing a Canadian woman prime minister was unimaginable. “Tell them I’ll stick around ‘til they’re ready,” Trudeau responded dryly, also to laughter.

Thirty-two years later, Trudeau’s son would be the prime minister appointing one of Wilson’s ambitious daughters to cabinet. (It was 2015; electing a Canadian woman prime minister remained unimaginable.) Wilson-Raybould wasn’t the first woman named to the post (that was Kim Campbell in 1990). But an Indigenous woman overseeing national justice sent out a powerful, emotionally charged, change-has-finally-come signal. It also dovetailed perfectly with the new government’s claim that Canada’s “most important” relationship is with Indigenous peoples and its vow to right myriad injustices: lifting the 2 percent cap on funding for First Nations; repealing the reviled Indian Act; building a new “nation to nation relationship”; completing an inquiry into the tragically unknown number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. As my colleague John Geddes writes in an insightful 2018 profile, “Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Vision to Save Canada,” she was an active, public player in the government’s reconciliation plan.

Yet not a year into the Liberal mandate was the government under fire for reconciliation symbolism being skin-deep, literally. Justin Trudeau’s prominent Haida raven tattoo, initially accepted by Haida leaders as a portent of a new government relationship, would be denounced as a symbol of cultural appropriation after Ottawa greenlit a LNG terminal in 2016 near the breeding grounds of one of B.C.’s biggest salmon runs.

Similarly, the Sunny Ways imagery infrastructure that buttressed the Liberal majority and telegraphed new hope would sag with time and controversies, among them an ethics violation, Trudeau’s optically disastrous trip to India, and the obtuse handling of an historical “groping” allegation. Even the thrill of strategic pics of a fun-socks-wearing or shirtless PM has dimmed.

It is revealing of the human need to construct pleasing narratives that the spectre of Wilson-Raybould as a politician acting with integrity, refusing to bend, has taken on such traction, even as details remain vague and Wilson-Raybould remains silent. Again, imagery is being dissected for clues: Wilson-Raybould’ body language during her swearing-in as Veteran Affairs Minister in January suggests she was mightily displeased, with none of the smiling or soulful eye-gazing with the PM seen in 2015. Her clothing, however, appeared to telegraph volumes: she wore a button blanket emblazoned with an eagle, her clan crest. Her replacement as Justice Minister and Attorney General, David Lametti, a white man, is a former law professor from Quebec.

Similarly, an usual statement issued by the former Justice Minister after her surprising demotion was destined to be avidly parsed. It now can be read as a defiant manifesto. Wilson-Raybould outlined “the dire social and economic realities that Indigenous peoples continue to face.” As Paul Wells points out, in the aftermath of SNC-Lavalin story, some lines read as damning, like this one: “It is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference and uphold the highest levels of public confidence.”

As the new Veterans Affairs Minister, Wilson-Raybould visibly embraced the role, traveling the country, making headlines. Yet, as a round-up of speeches given before her demotion reveals, the minister had voiced defiance and frustration for months. Last September, Wilson-Raybould suggested nothing has changed: “three years as a minister of the Crown I still have to contend—both personally and professionally—with a colonial legacy that remains pervasive despite best intentions.” She intimated her government was posturing: “Words, in the work of reconciliation, are also cheap without real action…” She emphasized the role women play: “it is typically the women in our communities who are leading the charge to decolonize and rebuild our governance models as our nations move away from colonial systems.”

Female leadership was a theme echoed in the no-holds-barred interview Wilson-Raybould’s father recently gave to Maclean’s. Bill Wilson, a prop in the feel-good 2015 story, is shaping a new narrative. “We’re a matriarchal tribe,” Wilson said, speaking with pride of his “very strong-willed and determined” daughter’s integrity. Wilson has been outspoken against the government in which her daughter is, at time of writing, still a cabinet minister. (In 2017, he called the handling of the MMIW inquiry “a bloody farce.” ) “Reconciliation is more a farce than the Conservatives,” Wilson told Maclean’s, as he impugned the current PM’s father: “They’ve been dancing around the table, just as the old man did with me.”

Wilson hinted that his daughter may have received other marching orders from the PMO while asserting she never shared cabinet confidences with him: “if the PMO told her that she should shut up about Indian Affairs and reconciliation, now you’re really talking about the violation of one’s integrity.” He described his daughter’s treatment with the sort of imagery no self-proclaimed feminist government wants association: “I think she was kicked in the teeth.”

Wilson made a prediction about his daughter: “I believe she could lose her career as a white politician. You don’t cross SNC-Lavalin and get away with it.” That doesn’t mean her career is over. Anything but. The allegation that Wilson-Raybould refused PMO interference has given rise to a new chapter, and profile, for a politician now heralded by some as a portent of real change within a Real Change™ government. It has even been posited that the Liberals’ “only hope” is replacing Trudeau with Wilson-Raybould.

For now, however, Wilson-Raybould is silent beyond a “no comment” due to solicitor-client privilege. Her denial of the story could end this, but no denial has been made, leaving the unfortunate optic of a muted cabinet minister within a government that has vocally championed transparency yet has also indicated it plans to block Opposition efforts to probe the allegation.

A previously unnoticed speech Wilson-Raybould gave last fall features foreshadowing of a new possible optic, this one based in action. She quoted a Chief Joe Mathias during constitutional talks in the 1980s (“Behold the turtle… he moves forward when he sticks his neck out”): “The question remains today, ‘Are we prepared to stick our necks out?,’ Wilson-Raybould said: “I say, let us stick our necks out. I am.”</s>Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from the Liberal cabinet on Tuesday morning. The move follows a report in the Globe and Mail last week that alleged she had been pressured as justice minister not to prosecute SNC-Lavalin for fraud, but to instead approve the use of a remediation agreement to avoid a trial. In her letter, Wilson-Raybould says she has hired a lawyer, Thomas Albert Cromwell, for “advice on the topics that I am legally permitted to discuss”. Here is her full letter of resignation to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

With a heavy heart, I am writing to tender my resignation as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.

I want to thank all Canadians, and in particular the residents of Vancouver-Granville, who put their trust in me and supported me as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. When I sought federal elected office, it was with the goal of implementing a positive and progressive vision of change on behalf of all Canadians and a different way of doing politics. My resignation as a Minister of the Crown in no way changes my commitment to seeing that fundamental change achieved. This work must and will carry on.

To Canada’s Veterans and their families: I have the deepest admiration and respect for you. This decision is in no way a reflection of my desire to see your service and sacrifice upheld and honoured. I only wish that I could have served you longer.

To my officials and ministerial staff: thank you for your hard work in the service of all Canadians. I am truly grateful for all that you have done and will continue to do.

I am aware that many Canadians wish for me to speak on matters that have been in the media over the last week. I am in the process of obtaining advice on the topics that I am legally permitted to discuss in this matter and as such, have retained the Honourable Thomas Albert Cromwell, CC as counsel.

Again, my thanks to all Canadians. Regardless of background, geography, or party affiliation, we must stand together for the values that Canada is built on, and which are the foundation for our future.

I look forward to continuing to serve as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville.
• The case for—and problem with—remediation deals like the one SNC-Lavalin wants</s>OTTAWA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Canadian Veterans Affairs Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on Tuesday quit amid allegations senior officials had pressured her to be lenient with construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc when she was justice minister.

Wilson-Raybould made the announcement in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau but did not give reasons for her resignation. Wilson-Raybould said she was consulting a lawyer to see how much she could say about the SNC-Lavalin affair. (Reporting by David Ljunggren)</s>Even if Wilson-Raybould wasn’t quite up to snuff, even “difficult,” as unnamed government officials let on to various reporters, the prime minister could simply have left her in place until the next election. Other ministers have stumbled more badly than she ever did and stayed in their posts.

When the history of our political times is written, the decision last month to take the prestigious justice ministry from Jody Wilson-Raybould may go down as the Trudeau government’s most calamitous mistake.

This self-inflicted bungle undermines the government’s professed principles and values all along the line. There is undoubtedly more to come in this affair, but consider the damage that has already been inflicted:

But no. Justin Trudeau chose to demote Wilson-Raybould to the important but clearly lesser position of veterans’ affairs, setting off a chain of events that led to her storming out of cabinet on Tuesday in a manner that rocks the Liberal government to its core.

It’s certainly true that Wilson-Raybould, as attorney general, had the authority to order prosecutors to work out a plea deal with SNC-Lavalin. She could take into account many factors, including the risk to the company and its employees of forcing it to endure a damaging trial on fraud and corruption charges.

But there are ways to do this and ways not to do it. And demoting a minister for refusing to bend to political pressure brought to bear on behalf of a big corporation (if it turns out that is what happened) would certainly be the wrong way.

Wilson-Raybould did not raise concerns about the handling of the SNC-Lavalin case, Trudeau says

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Whatever Wilson-Raybould’s failures were in this train-wreck, and failures there were, the government can’t dodge that central point. Putting the responsibility on her to cry foul even before she faced any consequences for resisting PMO pressure, as Trudeau did on Tuesday, evades the principal issue.

As for Wilson-Raybould’s mistakes, the most obvious was her decision to accept veterans’ affairs in mid-January. How could she do that if she felt it amounted to a punishment for failing to take the PMO’s hint on SNC-Lavalin? At the time she issued a lengthy statement about how proud she was of what she accomplished in justice. But she did not resign on principle. Rather, she stayed in cabinet, accepting the discipline and confidentiality that goes along with that.

Then she met with Trudeau in Vancouver over the weekend, and watched him go out and proclaim that her continuing presence in cabinet was evidence of his confidence in her. Mere hours later, she told him was quitting. If she was deliberately trying to inflict maximum embarrassment on the prime minister, she couldn’t have done any better.

At this point, the only way forward is to air these issues as thoroughly and publicly as possible. If an affair like this had erupted in the United States, a Congressional committee would already be calling witnesses. Our system is very different, but we mustn’t accept the silences and excuses that too often obscure the truth in our politics.

Let a parliamentary committee get to the bottom of this matter. It’s clear that Wilson-Raybould hopes to tell her version of events; why else would she retain a former Supreme Court of Canada justice, Thomas Cromwell, to advise her on what she can say? The government should find a way to release her quickly from the constraints of solicitor-client privilege. She should be allowed to answer detailed questions about what kind of pressure or influence she may have been subjected to, and from whom.

Likewise, the prime minister should be prepared to answer questions and should authorize his senior officials to do the same before a parliamentary committee. On Tuesday he proclaimed that the government “did its job” and followed the rules in the SNC-Lavalin affair. If the government truly believes it did nothing wrong, it should welcome a chance to clear the air. And with the clock ticking down to an election, better to get to it as soon as possible.
Jody Wilson-Raybould resigns as Canada's Minister of Veterans Affairs less than one month into her term amid allegations she had been pressured by the Prime Minister's Office to go easy on SNC-Lavalin while she was Minister of Justice.