Jody Wilson-Raybould: Ex-minister increases pressure on Trudeau

[NANO]

A former Canadian justice minister says she faced attempts at interference and "veiled threats" from top government officials seeking a legal favour for a firm facing a corruption trial. Jody Wilson-Raybould said she was pressed repeatedly to "find a solution" for engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. PM Justin Trudeau said he disagreed with the minister's testimony and he and his staff acted appropriately. Opposition leader Andrew Scheer has called on him to resign. "He can no longer, with a clear conscience, continue to lead this nation," the Conservative leader told reporters, adding that he was calling for a full police investigation. What did the former minister say? Speaking to the House of Commons justice committee, the former justice minister and attorney general said she and her staff faced four months of a "sustained" and "inappropriate effort" to push for a possible deferred prosecution agreement for the Quebec-based engineering and construction company. That agreement would have allowed the firm to avoid a criminal trial and instead agree to alternative terms or conditions, like penalties or enhanced compliance measures. It was an option rejected in September by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada - an independent authority whose main objective is to prosecute federal offences - and one she supported. Ms Wilson-Raybould said she and her aides were pulled into multiple conversations and meetings - "a barrage of people hounding me and my staff" - with Mr Trudeau, senior aides from his office and the finance department, and a top bureaucrat.In those various meetings, they repeatedly raised concerns about the possibility of job losses and potential political ramifications of a trial long after that decision had been made. "Within these conversations, there were expressed statements regarding the necessity of interference in the SNC-Lavalin matter, the potential of consequences and veiled threats if a deferred prosecution agreement was not made available to SNC," she said. Mr Trudeau's Liberals have struggled to contain the controversy over the past three weeks. Though she has been a key figure at the centre of the affair, Ms Wilson-Raybould had not yet not spoken publicly, citing solicitor-client privilege. That privilege was waived by the government on Monday, paving the way for her appearance before the committee on Wednesday. What has happened so far? This began in early February, when the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on allegations of political interference in the case against SNC-Lavalin.