Vancouver-Granville MP Jody Wilson-Raybould resigns from cabinet amid scandal

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Former attorney general and Vancouver-Granville MP Jody Wilson-Raybould has resigned from cabinet, following claims the Prime Minister’s Office pressured her to help Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin avoid criminal prosecution.

“With a heavy heart, I am writing to tender my resignation as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence,” Wilson-Raybould wrote in her resignation letter, which she has made public.

“I am aware that many Canadians wish for me to speak on matters that have been in the media over the last week,” she wrote. “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.”

 

Jody Wilson-Raybould made her resignation letter public on Feb. 12, 2019. (Source: jwilson-raybould.liberal.ca)

Wilson-Raybould’s letter does not say exactly why she’s quitting.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported last week that the Prime Minister’s office pressured her to arrange a deal with SNC-Lavalin that would have let it avoid 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.

RELATED: Ethics Commissioner launches investigation into SNC-Lavalin case

Monday, he said in Vancouver that he’d told Wilson-Raybould that any decision on the subject was hers alone.

Trudeau’s office released a statement following her resignation saying Minister Sajjan would be assuming Wilson-Raybould’s responsibilities as acting Minister of Veterans Affairs.

The federal ethics commissioner has officially launched an investigation into the matter. The investigation was launched after the commissioner received complaints from two NDP MPs.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer he believes the Prime Minister should be called to testify at the Justice Committee. He adds Canadians have a right to know the truth.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh responds

The leader of the federal NDP has issued a statement, following Wilson-Raybould’s resignation, saying he has “the utmost respect” for the MP and has “been dismayed” at the allegations that have surfaced.

“Now, more than ever, it is imperative that the Liberal government support the work of the Justice Committee that will be looking into whether there was illegal interference with the independent exercise of the former Attorney General’s responsibilities,” Jagmeet Singh said.

“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,” he added.

-With files from Cormac Mac Sweeny