Good morning,
Here’s a detailed look at Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony:
Over 3½ hours of dramatic testimony, Wilson-Raybould alleged a “consistent and sustained” effort by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and top officials to “politically interfere” in the SNC-Lavalin case during her time as attorney-general and justice minister. She outlined 10 phone calls and 10 meetings between September and December of last year – and alleged inappropriate conduct by Trudeau and 11 others. She said there were “veiled threats” if criminal charges weren’t dropped in favour of a deferred prosecution agreement. When she refused, Wilson-Raybould said she believed she was demoted to veterans affairs as a result.
Wilson-Raybould also said:
- During a Sept. 17 meeting with Trudeau and Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick, she said the Prime Minister “asked me to help out, to find a solution to SNC, citing that if there was no [deferred prosecution agreement] there would be many jobs lost and that SNC would move from Montreal.” (for subscribers)
- In that same meeting, she said Trudeau told her avoiding prosecution of SNC would help the Quebec Liberal Party in last fall’s provincial election: “... the Prime Minister jumped in stressing that there is an election in Quebec and that ‘I am an MP in Quebec – the member for Papineau.’"
- Wilson-Raybould also recounted a December meeting her chief of staff Jessica Prince had with Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford and then-principal secretary Gerald Butts, who reportedly said: “ ‘Jess, there is no solution here that doesn’t involve some interference,’ ” while Telford said: “We don’t want to debate legalities any more.”
- On Dec. 19, Wilson-Raybould said of Wernick: “The clerk said that the Prime Minister is quite determined” to pursue a DPA. He said, “I think he is gonna find a way to get it done one way or another.”
- On Jan. 7, Trudeau called her to tell her she was being moved to Veterans Affairs. “I will say that I stated I believed the reason was because of the SNC matter. They denied this.”
Go here for a full timeline of the events detailed by Wilson-Raybould, and go here to read her opening statement.
THE REACTION
Justin Trudeau: The Prime Minister said neither he nor his staff acted inappropriately. “I therefore completely disagree with the former attorney-general’s characterization of events,” he said. Trudeau said he would review Wilson-Raybould’s testimony before deciding whether she will remain in caucus.
Andrew Scheer: The Conservative Leader called on Trudeau to resign, saying he has “lost the moral authority to govern,” and said the RCMP should investigate.
Jagmeet Singh: The NDP Leader called for a public inquiry.
The Liberal caucus: Most MPs chose silence, though Ontario’s Celina Caesar-Chavannes tweeted: “Truth is power. Proud of you.” B.C. MP Ken Hardie said: “She’s a person with deep integrity, with whom we disagree.”
Indigenous leaders and advocates: “It makes one more angry about how terribly she was treated, how she was coerced, how she was browbeaten,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
Opinion and analysis:
John Ibbitson: “A prime minister who has been accused of such abuses by his own former attorney-general should no longer have the confidence of the House of Commons. This government should fall. Instead, the Liberal caucus will probably continue to support their leader out of blind loyalty.” (for subscribers)
Globe editorial: “Her allegations go to the foundations of the Canadian justice system’s independence, and they rise to the highest levels of the government. They are all the more powerful because this accusation against the Trudeau government is being made by one of its most senior members.”
Elizabeth Renzetti: “In many ways, she gave a very Canadian performance: devastating testimony delivered not with bluster or a raised voice, but instead with bland words such as “inappropriate” used like a shiv.” (for subscribers)
Campbell Clark: “Wilson-Raybould’s testimony hasn’t just accused the PM and the PMO of improperly interfering with the attorney-general but also, implicitly, of deceit ever since. It won’t be easy now for the Prime Minister to argue he did it all with good intentions.” (for subscribers)
Wilson-Raybould said her meetings on SNC were giving her “thoughts of the Saturday Night Massacre.” Washington correspondent Adrian Morrow explains the Richard Nixon-era scandal and why Wilson-Raybould’s analogy is particularly stinging for Trudeau.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen gave explosive testimony about the U.S. President yesterday. Among his accusations: Trump knew that WikiLeaks was about to release hacked Democratic e-mails in July of 2016; that Trump led efforts to build a Moscow hotel during the presidential campaign, even as he was publicly asserting that he had no business in Russia; that Trump ordered him to pay off porn star Stephanie Clifford ahead of the election, before reimbursing Cohen when he was President; that Trump has been involved in other “illegal acts” that have yet to become public.
Air Canada has suspended its flights to India amid a standoff between Pakistan and India. The Pakistani government closed its airspace; that came after it shot down two Indian fighter jets a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war. At the heart of the matter is the Kashmir region, which both countries have partial control over. On Feb. 14, 40 people in Indian-controlled Kashmir were killed in a suicide bombing by a Pakistani extremist group.
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MORNING MARKETS
Stocks fall
Global stocks retreated for a third straight day on Thursday as investors reduced their optimism over U.S.-Sino trade talks, while an early end to a U.S.-North Korean summit in Vietnam and weak economic data out of China also hit sentiment. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.8 per cent, while Hang Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite each shed 0.4 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5 per cent by about 7:10 a.m. ET, with Germany’s DAX down by less than 0.1 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 up marginally. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was at about 76 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
#MeToo update: Emma Thompson puts morals ahead of money
Denise Balkissoon: “Eloquent and excoriating, [a] letter confirms Thompson’s rumoured departure from the cast of Luck. It also outlines her reason: Skydance’s decision to name John Lasseter head of its animation department barely six months after he left the Walt Disney Co. in a cloud of allegations of sexual misconduct.” (for subscribers)
In a credibility war between a ‘fool’ and a ‘con man’, Michael Cohen wins
Lawrence Martin: “Ever since Trump came to office, there has been a maze of news on the Russian controversy and various other ethical entanglements. It’s been easy for Americans to get lost in the details. The explosive testimony of Cohen has brought it into the public spotlight with brutal clarity. And with the looming release of the report of special counsel Robert Mueller, with whom Cohen has been co-operating, it has plunged the Trump presidency into a deeper hell.” (for subscribers)
Canadian content can be so metaphysical, man
Simon Houpt: “To many people, Cancon conjures up images of unbearably earnest, unwatchable art house fare – or cheap schlock. So, some of the biggest players in the domestic film and TV industry are engaging in a canny bit of metaphysics-as-rebranding. Don’t like Canadian movies and TV shows? What if they were to take those movies and TV shows you do like and – er, call them Canadian?! Now you like Canadian movies and TV shows, right?”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)TGAM
LIVING BETTER
What is measles and why is it making a comeback? A guide
Measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world, killed 2.6 million people a year before a vaccine was introduced in 1963. And while vaccination didn’t eradicate the disease, it has made people much less likely to catch it from one another. But now the World Health Organization has listed “vaccine hesitancy” as one of the top global health threats for 2019 amid a resurgence in Canada and around the world. Go here to read about how the virus is spread and what you can do.
MOMENT IN TIME
Painter Alex Janvier is born
(Amber Bracken/The Globe and Mail)Amber Bracken/The Globe and Mail
Feb. 28, 1935: Artist Alex Janvier was born on the Le Goff Reserve of the Cold Lake First Nations in northern Alberta. Of Denesuline and Saulteaux ancestry, he grew up speaking Dene and was sent to a residential school at the age of 8. He has described his separation from his family as frightening and has lamented the loss of his culture, but at school he also discovered that the weekly art class was a welcome escape from a numbing routine. He graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 1960 and became a teacher and government art adviser. He brought together Indigenous artists, including Norval Morrisseau and Bill Reid, for the Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67, to which he also contributed a mural. In 1973, he helped establish the Professional Native Indian Artists, a marketing association sometimes labelled the Indian Group of Seven. He has always been an abstractionist, melding modernist styles with Indigenous spiritualism in works of bright colour, sweeping lines and vertiginous spirals. Morning Star, the large mural he painted on a domed ceiling at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau in 1993, is often considered his masterwork. Janvier lives in Cold Lake, Alta., and still paints. – Kate Taylor
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