For those who think that the furor over the Trudeau government’s treatment of former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould is no big deal, let’s remind ourselves that the court of public opinion matters.
In the last federal election, Justin Trudeau asked voters to judge the Stephen Harper’s government on its shoddy ethical standards, and now, heading into this election, the Trudeau government could be hoisted upon its own ethical petard.
The handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair, and the treatment of former minister Wilson-Raybould, has badly damaged the Liberal brand.
READ MORE: MPs hold emergency debate following Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony
This is not the first time the PM has slipped up; the Aga Khan holiday and ill-fated India trip created uncomfortable feedback from a feeble opposition, but that furor didn’t last long.
But, this one is different.
The SNC-Lavalin affair alleges that key members of the prime minister’s staff, and the prime minister himself, crossed a sacrosanct line between politics and the rule of law when they pressured then-attorney general Wilson-Raybould to put political and economic considerations ahead of adherence to the law.
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The fact that Wilson-Raybould was a respected and principled Indigenous cabinet member, who appears to have been removed from her role as attorney general because she refused to cave to political pressure from the PMO, only makes a bad situation even worse.
A poll by Leger for The Canadian Press indicates that most feel that the prime minister crossed that ethical line.
History shows that self-inflicted political wounds like that can be fatal!
Bill Kelly is the host of the Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.
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