OTTAWA—Justin Trudeau faced stunned cabinet ministers and a blistering NDP call for a public inquiry Tuesday, a day after his principal secretary Gerald Butts resigned while vowing to fight allegations of political interference by the Prime Minister’s Office in a criminal case.Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who along with Butts and Trudeau’s chief of staff Katie Telford had led the talks to renegotiate NAFTA, appeared to be reeling from the news of Butts’s sudden departure.“It’s obviously a sad moment for me and his many friends and people who really admired the tremendous work he’s done for Canada,” said Freeland. “Having said that, you know, our work goes on, as Gerry said in his own letter.”“All I can say is I have an enormous amount of respect for Gerry Butts and I know Gerry has an enormous amount of respect for Canadian institutions,” said Finance Minister Bill Morneau. “My sense is that he’s decided, and I think appropriately, to defend himself against people saying things that just aren’t true.” Butts was not specifically named in a Globe and Mail report Feb. 7 that first reported claims by unnamed sources that Jody Wilson-Raybould was shuffled out of her job as justice minister because she resisted pressure by unidentified senior PMO officials to cut a deal that would avoid criminal liability in a fraud and bribery case against Quebec-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.Nevertheless, questions continue to swirl, as do demands that the government release Wilson-Raybould from any promises of confidentiality in order to clear the air. The Liberal-dominated Commons justice committee meets Tuesday afternoon to decide whether to expand its own probe.And the entire Liberal caucus will soon face a bigger test, possibly as early as Wednesday, of its confidence in the government’s handling of the affair. New Democratic Party ethics critic Charlie Ang ...
|
