Here’s some of what MPs heard Wednesday from Gerald Butts, the former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Michael Wernick, the clerk of the privy council; and Nathalie Drouin, the deputy justice minister, at the House of Commons justice committee hearing into the SNC-Lavalin affair. They were responding to testimony last week of Jody Wilson-Raybould, who said she was replaced as Canada’s attorney general after rejecting what she characterized as improper political pressure regarding a criminal prosecution of the Quebec-based company:Deputy justice minister Nathalie Drouin and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick spoke about the SNC-Lavalin affair at the House of Commons justice committee on Wednesday. However, a breakdown in the relationship between the former attorney general and the prime minister occurred.” “When you boil this all down, the only thing we ever asked the attorney general to do was to get a second opinion. It was the first time it had ever been used. “Nobody was ever asking her to do anything for partisan reasons.” “I did not attempt to influence her decision.

Source: thestar March 06, 2019 22:07 UTC