Leadership strife is not at the root of the current troubles plaguing Justin Trudeau’s government. Or is it? While Jody Wilson-Raybould’s split with the Prime Minister’s Office is not apparently linked to any leadership ambitions, it is abundantly clear now that the former justice minister is driving the bus in this whole saga over SNC-Lavalin. So while Wilson-Raybould is not the leader or even a would-be leader of her party, she definitely has forced Liberals to follow her — if only to try to anticipate her next move. On Monday, on the eve of her much-anticipated appearance at the Commons justice committee, Raybould demurred, issuing instead a long letter setting out the conditions under which she intended to speak. Once again, without uttering a word about the specific grievances, Raybould is forcing everyone around her to react. Last week, she managed to get a hearing from cabinet and caucus — and this of course came after the resignation of Trudeau’s principal secretary, Gerald Butts. That’s pretty impressive clout for a rookie politician, new to cabinet and government a little over three years ago and a relative newcomer to the Liberal party. Read more:Discussions with attorney general about SNC-Lavalin were ‘troubling,’ legal expert saysOpinion | Heather Mallick: SNC-Lavalin story is made of air, says Captain CanadaTrudeau’s top aides discussed SNC-Lavalin file with Wilson-Raybould’s chief of staffIn fact, it’s difficult to remember any other politician who retained the power to keep dictating rules of engagement to a Prime Minister’s Office after leaving cabinet. When Lucien Bouchard left Brian Mulroney’s cabinet in 1990, that Conservative government carried on without him. Ditto for Paul Martin’s exit from Jean Chretien’s cabinet in 2003. Damage was done in both cases, certainly in the long term, but neither prime minister seemed overly concerned with keeping ...
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