Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh are calling for an ethics probe into allegations the Prime MinisterB次元官网网址檚 Office pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal prosecution.

Conservatives on the House of Commons justice committee, along with the New Democrats, will also force an emergency meeting to consider a motion calling on nine high-ranking government officials to testify on it, Scheer said.

The list includes Wilson-Raybould herself, Justice Minister David Lametti, the prime ministerB次元官网网址檚 chief of staff Katie Telford and the prime ministerB次元官网网址檚 principal secretary Gerald Butts.

The prime minister should have nothing to fear from an independent investigation by the federal ethics commissioner, Singh said separately.

The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that Wilson-Raybould was demoted in a cabinet shuffle early last month because she wouldnB次元官网网址檛 intervene in the case of SNC-Lavalin.

The Quebec engineering and construction giant has been charged with bribery and corruption in a bid to secure government business in Libya and wanted a deal, allowed under the law, to pay reparations rather than be prosecuted.

B次元官网网址淚f the prime minister has nothing to hide as he has suggested then he should have no reason to fear these individuals appearing before the justice committee,B次元官网网址� Scheer said on Parliament Hill. B次元官网网址淢Ps have a duty to determine what exactly happened here and Justin Trudeau and his office must be forthcoming.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎ll this cries out for some serious investigation,B次元官网网址� Singh said in a telephone interview from Burnaby, B.C., where heB次元官网网址檚 campaigning for a seat in the House of Commons in a Feb. 25 byelection.

B次元官网网址淚f he truly wants to clear this up and believes thereB次元官网网址檚 been no wrongdoing, he should welcome an investigation from the ethics commissioner. B次元官网网址� Tell us what happened, be transparent, invite the ethics commissioner to investigate and tell us that this is not the case or, if it is the case, then thereB次元官网网址檚 a serious reckoning that needs to happen.B次元官网网址�

The Globe reported that PMO aides leaned heavily on Wilson-Raybould to persuade the federal director of public prosecutions to negotiate a B次元官网网址渞emediation agreementB次元官网网址� with SNC-Lavalin as a way of holding it to account for wrongdoing by some of its executives, rather than pursuing a criminal prosecution that could financially hobble the company.

SNC-Lavalin was charged in 2015 by the RCMP and openly called for a remediation agreement to avoid damaging the company, a major employer in Quebec. After lobbying by the company of government officials, including those in the PMO, the government included in its 2018 budget a Criminal Code amendment to allow such agreements to be negotiated in cases of corporate crime, as is done in the United States and the United Kingdom.

During a visit to Vaughan, Ont., on Thursday, Trudeau said the allegations in the newspaper story B次元官网网址渁re false.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淣either the current nor the previous attorney general was ever directed by me or anyone in my office to take a decision in this matter,B次元官网网址� he said.

Asked whether he or his office had applied any influence or pressure on the minister, Trudeau repeated they had never directed Wilson-Raybould or Lametti to intervene.

Neither Wilson-Raybould nor SNC-Lavalin has responded to questions from The Canadian Press about the story.

Last October, Kathleen Roussel, the director of public prosecutions informed SNC-Lavalin that negotiating a remediation agreement would be inappropriate in this particular case. Three months later, Wilson-Raybould was moved to the veterans affairs post, a move widely seen as a demotion.

Both Scheer and Singh argue the issue cuts to the heart of our democracy and independent system of justice.

B次元官网网址淭he allegations that we are hearing in the last 24 hours are unprecedented,B次元官网网址� Scheer said.

It appears a corporation that has in the past made illegal donations to the Liberal party, among others, was able to influence the government to the point of changing the law and pressuring the attorney general to interfere with a decision of the public prosecutor, Singh said.

B次元官网网址淎t the end of the day, Canadians deserve to have a government on their side, on the side of justice, not on the side of a multinational corporation.B次元官网网址�

Singh said the allegations suggest there may have been possible violations of three sections of the federal Conflict of Interest Act: the prohibitions against public office holders giving preferential treatment to any individual or organization, using insider information to improperly further a personB次元官网网址檚 private interests or seeking to influence a decision to further another personB次元官网网址檚 private interests.

On the day Wilson-Raybould was shuffled out of her twin role as justice minister and attorney general, she penned an unprecedented, lengthy missive defending her performance in the job. Among other things, she wrote that B次元官网网址渋t is a pillar of our democracy that our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interferenceB次元官网网址� and that, as attorney general, she believed she must be B次元官网网址渁lways willing to speak truth to power.B次元官网网址�

She has refused to comment on the alleged pressure from PMO to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal trial, telling the Globe and Mail that the matter is B次元官网网址渂etween me and the government as the governmentB次元官网网址檚 previous lawyer.B次元官网网址�

That left her successor at Justice, Lametti, to fend off opposition charges Thursday of political interference in the justice system. Lametti said neither he nor Wilson-Raybould were ever directed or pressured to intervene with the director of public prosecutions to drop the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

Wilson-RaybouldB次元官网网址檚 father, Bill Wilson, said in a Facebook post Thursday that his daughterB次元官网网址檚 cabinet demotion B次元官网网址渕akes sense now B次元官网网址� ugly political sense.B次元官网网址� He predicted B次元官网网址漢istory will prove that she did the right thing.B次元官网网址�

The attorney general is legally allowed to give directives to the public prosecutor on general issues and on individual cases, provided the directives are in writing and published in the Canada Gazette, the federal register.

The fact that such directives must be done publicly is intended to constrain a justice minister from doing anything overtly political.

Joan Bryden and Kristy Kirkup, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .