The New Democrats said Monday that federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion is looking into allegations the Prime Minister91裸聊视频檚 Office improperly tried to help SNC-Lavalin avoid criminal prosecution.
The NDP asked Dion last week to examine whether Justin Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 aides leaned on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to have the public prosecutor forge a remediation deal with the engineering firm instead of pursuing bribery and fraud charges.
READ MORE: Opposition parties push for emergency meeting on SNC-Lavalin case
Charlie Angus, the party91裸聊视频檚 ethics critic, said in a statement that Trudeau promised Canadians he would change the way politics worked in Ottawa, but instead his Liberal government 91裸聊视频渃ontinues to prioritize helping insiders and the rich get ahead. Canadians deserve better.91裸聊视频�
Word of the probe came shortly after a Liberal MP joined opposition calls for a parliamentary investigation into the matter.
New Brunswick MP Wayne Long said in a statement posted to social media that he was 91裸聊视频渆xtremely troubled91裸聊视频� when the allegation surfaced last week and nothing he has heard since has made him feel less unsettled.
91裸聊视频淗ow the law treats individuals or corporations in our society is not, and should never be, incumbent upon the political pressure they can exert upon politicians,91裸聊视频� he said.
Long stressed he91裸聊视频檚 not 91裸聊视频渞ushing to any judgment91裸聊视频� in the matter, but believes 91裸聊视频渁 full and transparent investigation91裸聊视频� by the House of Commons justice committee is necessary. For that reason, he said he supports an opposition motion to launch an inquiry.
Conservatives and New Democrats on the justice committee joined forces to get an emergency meeting on Wednesday to consider a motion calling on nine high-ranking government officials to testify, including Wilson-Raybould herself. The list also includes David Lametti, who replaced Wilson-Raybould as attorney general in a January cabinet shuffle, the prime minister91裸聊视频檚 chief of staff, Katie Telford, and his principal secretary, Gerald Butts.
Lametti, meanwhile, faced a fresh round of questions about the simmering political controversy after speaking to a Canadian Bar Association meeting Monday. However, he emphasized it would be inappropriate to comment on an issue before the courts.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 the attorney general,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淪o I91裸聊视频檓 not going to say anything that could be interpreted in any way, shape or form as compromising that position.91裸聊视频�
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported last week that Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 aides pressed Wilson-Raybould to help avoid a prosecution of SNC-Lavalin on charges stemming from alleged business activities in Libya.
The newspaper said Wilson-Raybould was shuffled to the veterans-affairs portfolio after she refused to get the public prosecutor to negotiate a remediation deal with the company, a means of acknowledging wrongdoing without a criminal conviction.
The Liberal government maintains that while discussions on the matter took place with Wilson-Raybould, she wasn91裸聊视频檛 pressured or told to issue a directive to the prosecutor.
Trudeau, who is in B.C. on Monday, is also likely to face questions about the nature of those closed-door discussions.
The Canadian Press
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