Opposition MPs are clamouring for the House Justice Committee to call Jody Wilson-Raybould to testify for a second time on the SNC-Lavalin scandal, but a Liberal member of that committee said it鈥檚 time to move on.
In an interview with CTV Question Period host Evan Solomon, Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre said that a newly released audio recording of a 17-minute-long phone call between the former attorney-general and outgoing Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick makes it all the more necessary that Wilson-Raybould be invited to provide a second round of testimony.
鈥淚f (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) has nothing to hide, why won鈥檛 he let her complete her testimony?鈥� Poilievre said.
In the audio recording of the Dec. 19 phone call that Wilson-Raybould provided to the Justice Committee on Friday, Wernick warns Wilson-Raybould of a potential 鈥渃ollision鈥� with the prime minister over her decision not to offer SNC-Lavalin a deferred prosecution agreement that would forestall its criminal prosecution on bribery and corruption charges in exchange for the payment of a hefty fine.
Wilson-Raybould, who resigned from cabinet last month, tells Wernick that 鈥渨e are treading on dangerous ground here鈥� and adds that 鈥渢his is going to look like political interference by the prime minister.鈥�
Wernick resigned from his role on Mar. 18.
Poilievre said that the recording stands in stark contrast with Trudeau鈥檚 assertions that Wilson-Raybould should have come forward if she felt any of the conversations on the SNC-Lavalin file were inappropriate.
鈥淯sing words like 鈥榓 collision鈥� is clearly a veiled threat, which is exactly what she alleged at committee,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd now we know she was telling the truth.鈥�
He is calling on Liberal MP Jane Philpott, who resigned from cabinet citing a lack of confidence in Trudeau鈥檚 handling of the SNC-Lavalin dispute, and all of the other people who have been linked to it, to testify before the committee, too.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said that the recording shows that no one in the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office 鈥渟eemed to understand the concept of prosecutorial independence,鈥� adding that their behaviour amounts to 鈥渁 very serious abuse of their office.鈥�
She, too, thinks that Justice Committee has more to learn from Wilson-Raybould. The directive issued by Trudeau waiving attorney-client privilege and cabinet confidence that allowed her to testify was too narrowly-defined, she said.
鈥淚 think they made a huge mistake in deciding to shut down her ability to finish her testimony and also to know what happened between the moment she was made Minister of Veterans Affairs and the time she decided to step down,鈥� she told CTV Question Period.
But Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, who sits on the Justice Committee, disagreed, noting that Wilson-Raybould gave four hours of testimony before the committee last month -- longer than anyone else -- and was permitted to read a 38-minute opening statement.
The written statement, copies of text messages, emails and the audio recording that she provided to the committee 鈥渃onfirms what we already knew,鈥� Boissonnault said.
鈥淟iterally, it鈥檚 time to get on with what Canadians expect us to do, which is to improve their lives and get on to the business of governing,鈥� he added.
The Liberal-dominated justice committee shut down further hearings in the SNC-Lavalin affair last week.
NDP finance critic Peter Julian said that the recording laid out 鈥渁 very clear pattern鈥� of 鈥渙utrageous鈥� behaviour and is calling for a public inquiry.
Wilson-Raybould鈥檚 claim during her testimony that she was subjected to 鈥渧eiled threats鈥� was an underestimation of what was actually happening, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very, very clear threat,鈥� he said, noting that the SNC-Lavalin scandal has given Canada 鈥渁 black eye internationally.鈥�
Boissonnault repeated Trudeau鈥檚 oft-repeated defense that any conversations between his office and Wilson-Raybould on the SNC-Lavalin file were about 鈥渟ticking up for jobs.鈥�
The dispute is 鈥渁 fundamental disagreement over the intensity of the kind of conversations that can take place between an attorney-general, and in this case, her colleague,鈥� he said.
The real 鈥渆thical breach,鈥� Boissonnault added, was Wilson-Raybould鈥檚 decision to secretly record her conversation with Wernick -- something she admitted was an 鈥渆xtraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step.鈥�
Boissonnault would not say definitively whether Wilson-Raybould and Philpott should be booted from the Liberal caucus.
鈥淲e鈥檙e here to make lives better for Canadians and as long as people share our Liberal values, they鈥檙e welcome in the team,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f they decide they鈥檙e no longer able to do that, that鈥檚 their call.鈥�
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denied inappropriately pressuring Wilson-Raybould on SNC-Lavalin and has not apologized. The scandal, which comes just months before a federal election in October, has led to the resignation of two cabinet ministers, Canada鈥檚 top civil servant and Trudeau鈥檚 former principal secretary.
