Andrew Scheer is challenging Justin Trudeau to follow through on a threat to sue him over his assertion that the prime minister politically interfered with the criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavlin.
The Conservative leader revealed Sunday that he received a letter on March 31 from TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Julian Porter, threatening a libel suit.
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B次元官网网址淚f Mr. Trudeau believes he has a case against me, I urge him to follow through on his threat immediately,B次元官网网址� Scheer said in a statement.
B次元官网网址淐anadians want this scandal to be investigated in a legal setting where Liberals do not control the proceedings.B次元官网网址�
Scheer said he looks forward to Trudeau testifying under oath in open court.
He called the threatened lawsuit B次元官网网址渁n intimidation tacticB次元官网网址� aimed at silencing the Conservatives, who have been demanding a thorough, independent investigation of the affair. ItB次元官网网址檚 the same kind of tactic Trudeau has employed to silence former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, said Scheer.
B次元官网网址淭his is what Justin Trudeau does when you stand up to him. He threatens you.B次元官网网址�
Like Wilson-Raybould, Scheer added: B次元官网网址淲e will not back down. We will continue to do our jobs, hold him to account and get to the bottom of this.B次元官网网址�
Wilson-Raybould maintains she was inappropriately pressured last fall by the Prime MinisterB次元官网网址檚 Office to stop criminal proceedings against SNC-Lavalin on bribery charges related to contracts in Libya. She believes she was moved to Veterans Affairs in a mid-January cabinet shuffle as punishment for refusing to do so. She resigned from cabinet a month later.
While she has called the pressure improper, Wilson-Raybould has said she doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe anything illegal occurred.
Last week, Trudeau expelled both Wilson-Raybould and fellow former cabinet minister Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus. Philpott had resigned from cabinet in early March, citing a loss of confidence in the governmentB次元官网网址檚 handling of the SNC-Lavalin case.
At issue in the threatened libel suit is a statement Scheer issued on March 29, in which he said documentation provided by Wilson-Raybould to the House of Commons justice committee B次元官网网址� including a surreptitiously recorded phone conversation with the clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick B次元官网网址� is B次元官网网址渃oncrete evidence that proves Justin Trudeau led a campaign to politically interfere with SNC-LavalinB次元官网网址檚 criminal prosecution.B次元官网网址�
Porter called the statement B次元官网网址渉ighly defamatory.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he prime minister supports wide-ranging and vigorous political debate on matters of public policy,B次元官网网址� he said in his letter to Scheer. B次元官网网址淗owever, your statement, in its entirety, is beyond the pale of fair debate and is libellous of my client personally and in the way of his occupation as prime minister.B次元官网网址�
Porter said itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渆ntirely falseB次元官网网址� to say Trudeau interfered in the SNC prosecution, which has not been halted, or that he personally directed Wilson-Raybould to B次元官网网址渂reak the lawB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渇iredB次元官网网址� her when she refused. ItB次元官网网址檚 also entirely false to suggest Trudeau was aware of Wilson-RaybouldB次元官网网址檚 concern that he was politically interfering in the SNC case but lied to Canadians about it, Porter said.
ScheerB次元官网网址檚 statement that the affair amounts to B次元官网网址渃orruption on top of corruption on top of corruptionB次元官网网址� was meant to suggest that Trudeau B次元官网网址渉ad engaged in dishonest and corrupt conduct that would contravene the Criminal Code,B次元官网网址� a crime deserving of up to 14 years in prison, Porter said. That too was B次元官网网址渆ntirely false.B次元官网网址�
In response, ScheerB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Peter Downard, wrote back Sunday that Scheer B次元官网网址渨ill not be intimidatedB次元官网网址� and is simply performing his B次元官网网址渃onstitutional dutyB次元官网网址� to hold the government to account.
If Trudeau is serious about suing, Downard said he must immediately take steps to preserve all relevant documents and to notify all members of his government, past and present, whoB次元官网网址檝e been involved in the SNC-Lavalin matter that they can expect to be called to testify.
If Trudeau does not proceed with the threatened lawsuit, Downard said Scheer will conclude that Trudeau B次元官网网址渉as properly acknowledged that Mr. ScheerB次元官网网址檚 statements were appropriate and grounded in evidence before the Canadian people.B次元官网网址�
Joan Bryden , The Canadian Press
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