Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

DAN ALBAS: Many consider a DPA to be a ‘slap on the wrist’, only offered to well-connected insiders


If you have followed any Canadian media reports this week, you have likely heard the growing controversy occurring within the Trudeau Liberal government.  In particular, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the subsequent fallout over the resignation of former Justice and until earlier this week Veteran Affairs Minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, from the Trudeau cabinet.

What started this controversy?

Last week, the Globe and Mail reported that the former Justice Minister was pressured, by Trudeau's senior officials working within the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), into offering a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in a criminal case to SNC Lavalin, in lieu of a criminal trial.

It has been suggested that when Ms. Wilson-Raybould did not end the criminal proceedings in favour of a DPA.  Instead she was shuffled, by the Prime Minister, from the Justice portfolio -- and a Montreal based Justice Minister was appointed.


The new Justice Minister has since indicated that he will not rule out entering into a DPA with SNC-Lavalin. A deferred prosecution agreement allows a major corporate entity, like SNC Lavalin, to plead guilty, and pay a fine, instead of facing criminal charges that may lead to jail or other severe consequences.

In this case, the consequence of a criminal conviction would be a ban from being able to bid on federal contracts for ten years.

Many consider a DPA to be a “slap on the wrist”, only offered to well-connected insiders.  It is also a controversial topic as it this was only recently created in Canada, buried deep within a Liberal omnibus budget implementation bill.

It has been implied that this option, of a DPA, was created specifically to benefit SNC Lavalin, which is currently facing criminal charges related to bribery and fraud.

Where this situation becomes murkier is that the lobbyist registry reveals that since 2016, SNC-Lavalin has lobbied the Trudeau Liberal government more than 80 times on the subject of “justice and law enforcement”.

In 2016 it was also revealed that SNC Lavalin had illegally donated close to $118,000 to various political parties. Of this $118,000, close to $110,000 was donated to the Liberal Party of Canada, or various Liberal riding associations or candidates.

The remainder went to the Conservative Party of Canada, or various Conservative candidates. None was reported donated to the NDP.

The Prime Minister has steadfastly refused that he directed the former Justice Minister in any way over the SNC-Lavalin prosecution, however he has refused to comment on the allegations that Wilson-Raybould may have been pressured.

A serious concern, that many suggest, amounts to potential judicial interference.

On Monday evening, Ms. Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet in a letter stating that she has hired legal counsel to determine what she can say in response to the allegations,  without interfering with solicitor client privilege that Mr. Trudeau has thus far refused to waive.

My question this week:


"Do you believe this situation is deserving of further investigation or should Mr. Trudeau be taken at his word that there was no potential judicial interference?"

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.



Dan Albas, Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Central Okanagan – Similkameen – Nicola, is currently the Shadow Minister of Innovation, Science, Economic Development and Internal Trade and sits on the Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology.

MP Dan welcomes comments, questions and concerns from citizens and is often available to speak to groups and organizations on matters of federal concern.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GORDON F. D. WILSON: When The Trick Masquerades as The Treat

Thirty-seven years ago, Halloween 1987, I became the leader of the BC Liberal Party.   British Columbia was badly polarized. Social Credit held one side and the NDP the other. It had been twelve years, 1975, since Liberal MLAs Garde Gardom, Pat McGeer, and Alan Williams had walked away from their party to join Social Credit, one year after the lone Progressive Conservative MLA Hugh Curtis had abandoned his party to sit with Bill Bennett, the son and heir apparent to long-serving BC Premier, WAC Bennett.   An unwritten agreement by the biggest Canadian political shareholders, the federal Liberals and Conservatives, decided that if British Columbia was to remain a lucrative franchise from a revenue perspective, they couldn’t risk splitting the electoral vote and electing the real enemy, the NDP, so no resources would be used to finance either a Liberal or Conservative party provincially.   “There are two sides to every street,” I was told by a very prominent Canadian businessman who cont

FORSETH: You Have To Be A Bit Crazy

  Ward and his wife Carleen celebrating his win on election night.   In March of this year, I took on the role of Campaign Manager for BC Conservative candidate Ward Stamer.  It’s the third time I’ve had the opportunity as I took on the role for Peter Sharp in 2013, and for Dennis Giesbrecht in 2020. Now let me tell you, in the past, a BC Conservative campaign team generally consisted of myself, the candidate and one or two helpers – and very little in the way of a campaign budget. Thankfully, a benefit of having spent 30+ years in the broadcast media afforded me the ability to do ad copy and write candidate speeches, and prep both Dennis and Peter to deal with the media – it’s also something I have always enjoyed. That was part of my duties this time around as well, however having a team of a dozen and a half volunteers meant that for the first time we had people available to ID our supporters, put together and install campaign signs, distribute campaign literature, and help out at ou

FORSETH: As a BC Conservative member, and campaign worker, I will again state that the fact these errors were found -- AND brought to light BY Elections BC -- shows the system IS working

Sadly, two and a half weeks after the BC provincial election campaign, those who want to undermine our political process are still at.  PLUS, we also have one who doesn’t even live in our country, never mind our province. I speak of the buffoon running for President of the United States, who has poisoned the well when it comes to faith in the electoral process. Just today alone, comments such as the following, were being made of posts that I shared online: ... all the votes they keep finding has just favoured NDP on in all critical ridings and soon they will flip another riding in favour of NDP, Come on. ... Elections BC has ridiculed British Columbians, and I no longer have confidence or trust in their process and competence regarding the results Then there are others online, with comments like these – who are claiming fraud in the October 19th election: ... Who is the oversight for Elections BC? They should be investigated for election fraud! ... Fraudulent election ... should be red

Labels

Show more