Lobbying
Amid SNC-Lavalin lobbying, legalizing deferred prosecution agreements in budget bill raises questions about ‘timing’ and ‘undue influence,’ says ethics lawyer
By Peter Mazereeuw Mar. 18, 2019
Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s explanation for the move—helping the economy—puts him in a direct contradiction with his own law, says ex-Conservative finance minister Joe Oliver.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau introduced changes to make deferred prosecution agreements an option for prosecutors in his first 2018 budget bill, after more than a year of lobbying by SNC-Lavalin for him to do so. Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his top staffers inappropriately pressured her to direct prosecutors to offer a deferred prosecution agreement to SNC-Lavalin in the months that followed. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
The Liberal government’s decision to use a budget bill to legalize deferred prosecution agreements raises questions about whether lobbyists had “undue influence” on the government as it made the business-friendly legal change, says an expert in ethics law.
Related Stories
Explore, analyze, understand
2018 Guide to Lobbyist Gifting Rules
The 2018 Guide to Lobbyist Gifting Rules is the essential resource for your work on federal issues.
Get the book
The 2018 Guide to Lobbyist Gifting Rules is the essential resource for your work on federal issues.
Get the book
Related Policy Briefings
Agriculture Policy Briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Military Procurement Policy Briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Defence Policy Briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Short and informative analyses on policy challenges that bring background and recommendations to policymakers, journalists and the general public.
Read policy briefing
Politics This Morning
Your email has been added. An email has been sent to your address, please click the link inside of it to confirm your subscription.
More in News
Senators work to change Ambrose’s judicial training bill, get it passed before summer break
Some Senators say proposed changes to the bill requiring sexual assault training for judges have broad support, but ‘games’ may delay the study.Public service grew again in 2018, rebounding from Harper-era cuts
Since the Liberals took power in 2015, the public service has grown from 257,034 to 273,571 people in 2018, with the biggest boost coming between 2017 and 2018.Budget bill completes INAC split, but union says transition still ‘in flux’
The AFN says it should have been consulted on the legislation finalizing the split, while the government says the bill is bringing ‘more certainty and clarity to our Indigenous partners.’Canadian businesses not seizing on CETA as much as Europeans, need a culture shift, say analysts
The feds hope small- and medium-sized businesses take advantage of new export opportunities, but transportation costs may deter many.Feds shift to non-traditional workspaces, but not everyone’s happy about it
Some employees have no designated desks, leaving little space for personal belongings or accessibility accommodations, say critics. But the government says the change is meant to design workspaces around client departmenCrowded field of candidates expected for Liberal nomination in GTA swing riding of Oakville
Former Ontario Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn and University of Toronto law professor Anita Anand are seeking the Liberal nomination in Oakville, Ont.Anxious Liberals want Grits to fill all-important national campaign director position soon
Liberal Party headquarters is still undecided on whether former PMO principal secretary Gerald Butts, a key architect of the 2015 election win, will have any role in the October federal election.Pollsters point to rising public racism, Quebec seats to explain Liberals’ U-turn on refugees
Getting tough on refugee claimants could help the Grits to block out the Bloc Québécois in Quebec in the next election, says Greg Lyle.Federal government ad spending rises after PM’s department bumps up limit 45 per cent in election year
The CRA used its newly beefed-up budget to run ads touting the Canada Child Benefit and two other tax benefits on buses and in prime-time TV commercials.Trending Stories
