The Canadian Taxpayers Federation believes the federal government needs to make two major changes in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin affair.
The federation’s Federal Director endorses the call to split the Attorney General and Justice Minister into separate portfolios.
Aaron Wudrick feels the SNC-Lavalin case is proof the country’s top lawyer needs to be shielded from political interference.
Wudrick points to former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould being pressured by the Prime Minister and his office to approve a deferred prosecution for the Canadian engineering giant.
The issue became national news after Wilson-Raybould refused feeling it was wrong to intervene in a criminal case still before the courts.
Wudrick says the recent ruling by the Ethics Commissioner that Justin Trudeau violated conflict-of-interest rules in his dealings with Wilson-Raybould clearly spells out why the roles should be separated.
Wudrick is also concerned about the process for passing the legislation that would have allowed an out-of-court settlement for SNC-Lavalin.
The CTF official believes the company was behind the Trudeau government’s approval of the legislation buried in a complicated budget bill where its details were hidden which limited scrutiny and debate.
Wudrick says that should never happen again calling for an end to omnibus bills.
He concedes the SNC-Lavalin affair is front and centre again just two months away from an election following the ethics commissioner’s report.
Wudrick doesn’t want this “political football” to deflect attention away from their call to make these changes regardless of which party is in power.
(CJWW)
