Bibeau a ‘surprise’ in ag role, but presents chance to ‘go to bat’ for sector, say observers
Marie-Claude Bibeau’s appointment as the new agriculture and agri-food minister came as a surprise to the agriculture community, stakeholders say, but they note that as an MP hailing from a riding full of dairy farmers, she has been a “good voice” for supply-managed industries. Ms. Bibeau was unexpectedly shuffled to the file on March 1, […]
Amid SNC-Lavalin lobbying, legalizing deferred prosecution agreements in budget bill raises questions about ‘timing’ and ‘undue influence,’ says ethics lawyer
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. The timing of the decision to use a fast-tracked budget bill to make changes while SNC-Lavalin stared […]
SNC-Lavalin affair ripe for opposition to capitalize on, say politicos, but Scheer, Singh poll numbers still flat
The SNC-Lavalin affair has hurt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s approval numbers, but political commentators say it remains to be seen whether Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh can use the controversy to bump past the Liberal leader in the polls ahead of October’s election. Recent polling shows that Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) […]
Co-ops key to building nation of innovators
Co-operatives often fail to fit program or policy criteria as a ‘business,’ or face costly delays and barriers to growth, such as those that result from disparities between the Canadian Cooperatives Act and individual provincial acts, which limit co-operatives’ ability to trade and expand across provinces.
Finance, innovation lead January’s slow lobbying start to 2019
Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his staffers were among the most in-demand targets for lobbyists in an otherwise quiet month as the Hill returned from the holiday break in January. Lobbyists mentioned Mr. Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) in 13 communications, on par with Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains’ (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.) tally of 14, though many of […]
Ex-DM ‘deeply disturbed’ by PCO clerk Wernick’s committee testimony, but others say it didn’t cross partisan line
Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick’s testimony last week to the House Justice Committee on the SNC-Lavalin scandal was “way over the line,” according to one former deputy minister, who added he was “deeply disturbed” by the “profoundly political” performance. However, another former bureaucrat, Kevin Page, the first parliamentary budget officer, said he didn’t see anything […]
Justice officials told Senators SNC didn’t lobby them to get remediation agreements in law
Despite heavily lobbying ministers and political staff as well as some bureaucrats in other departments, SNC-Lavalin didn’t meet with Justice Department officials in the two years leading up to when the deferred prosecution agreements it wanted were ready to be used, departmental officials told Senators who studied the agreements last year. The Senate Legal and […]
Perception a problem with retired Supreme Court justices involved in the ‘highly partisan’ SNC-Lavalin affair, say some court watchers
With a former Supreme Court justice tapped as counsel to former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, some court watchers say they are “uneasy” with the optics of a political judiciary. But two former justices say she has the right to get good legal advice and it doesn’t politicize Canada’s highest court. When Ms. Wilson-Raybould (Vancouver Granville, […]
Butts’ exit could help government wield more effective defence strategy in SNC-Lavalin affair, politicos say
Gerald Butts’ resignation as the prime minister’s most trusted adviser could be an attempt for the Trudeau government to mount a more effective defence against allegations that senior officials exerted pressure on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to drop prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, according to political observers. Mr. Butts’ departure as the prime minister’s principal secretary, […]
SNC-Lavalin lobbied Liberal-tied ambassador on corruption case, sought help from ex-aides to Chrétien, Mulroney
Liberal government officials are keeping tight-lipped about their meetings with SNC-Lavalin lobbyists over the past three years, but lobbying records show the company raised “justice”—and likely discussed deferred prosecution agreements—with government insiders regularly as the company sought to avoid prosecution on corruption charges, and brought on a pair of former top aides to Liberal and […]
