Former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould spent hours testifying before the House of Commons justice committee Wednesday, detailing what she said were attempts to get her to interfere in the SNC-Lavalin case.
It was the first time Wilson-Raybould spoke openly about reports that she was pressured by the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene in the decision of public prosecutors to pursue a criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant.
“For a period of approximately four months, between September and December of 2018, I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere … in an inappropriate effort to secure a deferred prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin,” she said.
WATCH: Wilson-Raybould’s testimony proves Trudeau lied to Canadians, Scheer says
Following her testimony, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh called for a public inquiry.
Trudeau also spoke with reporters Wednesday night. He denied that he and his staff acted inappropriately, as he has throughout the SNC affair.
He said he “completely disagrees” with Wilson-Raybould’s version of events presented at the committee meeting.
The allegation that Wilson-Raybould faced political pressure regarding SNC-Lavalin was first published by the Globe and Mail on Feb. 7.
Wilson-Raybould initially said she was not able to address the allegations due to solicitor-client privilege, but Trudeau recently gave her the green light to speak — with limitations.
The former Liberal minister said Tuesday that her hotly anticipated testimony wouldn’t tell the whole the story because an unprecedented order-in-council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality doesn’t cover everything.
Those limitations barred her from commenting on the time after she was shuffled out of the attorney general post. She was also still forbidden from discussing any talks she may have had with the director of public prosecutions, who made the decision to pursue a criminal trial.
Wilson-Raybould’s testimony can be found in the live blog below.
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