OTTAWA 鈥� Liberals are hoping to cauterize the SNC-Lavalin affair with the expulsions of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the governing party鈥檚 fold.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Tuesday at a hastily called caucus meeting that he had informed the two former cabinet ministers he was kicking them out of the Liberal caucus and will not allow them to run as Liberal candidates in this fall鈥檚 election.
鈥淭he trust that previously existed between these two individuals and our team has been broken,鈥� he told Liberal MPs.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 taping conversations without consent or repeatedly expressing a lack of confidence in our government and in me personally as leader, it鈥檚 become clear that Ms. Wilson-Raybould and Dr. Philpott can no longer remain part of our Liberal team.鈥�
The SNC-Lavalin affair has engulfed the government for nearly two months and cost Trudeau his lead in public opinion polls; his most trusted adviser, Gerald Butts; and the country鈥檚 top public servant, Michael Wernick 鈥� in addition to the two former ministers who had symbolized his commitment to gender equality and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
Liberals are now hoping the worst is over and they can finally move on to the agenda they hope will get them re-elected.
Trudeau said the Liberals won the 2015 election 鈥渂ecause we stood together as a team,鈥� whereas 鈥渢he old Liberal party was notorious for infighting.鈥�
鈥淐ivil wars within parties are incredibly damaging because they signal to Canadians that we care more about ourselves than about them. That鈥檚 why I made the difficult decision to remove Ms. Wilson-Raybould and Dr. Philpott from the Liberal caucus.鈥�
Trudeau鈥檚 announcement followed a day of meetings with the chairs of the various Liberal regional caucuses and discussions with MPs. The party鈥檚 largest group, the Ontario caucus, met for 90 minutes earlier in the day to discuss the fates of the two former ministers.
Philpott, who represents a Toronto-area riding, showed up for that meeting but left after less than 10 minutes. Wilson-Raybould, meanwhile, sent a letter to all Liberal MPs making an 11th-hour pitch for staying in caucus but making no apologies for going public with her contention that she was improperly pressured last fall to stop the criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.
The company faces criminal charges over allegedly corrupt dealings in Libya. Wilson-Raybould had the authority as attorney general to divert the proceedings with a remediation agreement, a sort of plea-bargain that could spare the company the worst consequences of a conviction; that authority is new in Canadian law, it has never been used, and Wilson-Raybould has said she saw no reason to overrule a decision by the director of public prosecutions against seeking such an agreement.
鈥淭here was a tone of the letter that had an exclusivity to it, that she had a monopoly on truth and that there was not a conversation to be had,鈥� said Toronto MP Rob Oliphant. 鈥淚t was a strong first-person letter and politics is not about first person ... it鈥檚 about 鈥榳e,鈥� not about 鈥業.鈥� 鈥�
National caucus chair Francis Scarpaleggia, from Quebec, said there was 鈥渁n overwhelming consensus鈥� that the two had to go.
Not all Liberals were happy with the decision. Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and New Brunswick MP Wayne Long, who had hoped for a way to accommodate the former ministers, said they were disappointed but respected the consensus view of caucus and the prime minister鈥檚 decision.
In a Facebook post, Philpott said her decision to resign from cabinet in early March, citing a lack of confidence in the government鈥檚 handling of the SNC-Lavalin file, was not about 鈥渁 lack of loyalty.鈥� Rather, she insisted both she and Wilson-Raybould were attempting to 鈥減rotect鈥� Trudeau from the consequences of 鈥渁ttempts to interfere with prosecutorial independence.鈥�
Philpott said she will continue to serve her constituents in Markham-Stouffville 鈥渇or the remainder of this term鈥� 鈥� which suggests she does not intend to run for re-election as an independent or candidate for another party.
Wilson-Raybould tweeted that she will take time to reflect on her next steps.
鈥淲hat I can say is that I hold my head high & that I can look myself in the mirror knowing I did what I was required to do and what needed to be done based on principles & values that must always transcend party. I have no regrets. I spoke the truth as I will continue to do,鈥� she said.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer wasted no time issuing what amounted to an invitation to the two former ministers and their supporters to join his party.
鈥淚f you believe that speaking truth to power should be rewarded, not punished, there is a place for you in the Conservative Party of sa国际传媒,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淭he message (the Liberals) have sent today is clear: If you tell the truth, there is no room for you in the Liberal Party of sa国际传媒.鈥�
Trudeau said he鈥檇 tried to be patient and understanding but nothing would satisfy the two ex-ministers.
鈥淲e鈥檝e taken every effort to address their concerns, and ultimately, if they can鈥檛 honestly say that they have confidence in this team ... then they cannot be part of this team,鈥� Trudeau said. 鈥淥ur political opponents win when Liberals are divided. We can鈥檛 afford to make that mistake 鈥� Canadians are counting on us.鈥�
He concluded his speech with a campaign-style recitation of his government鈥檚 accomplishments, including the assertion that: 鈥淲e have always, always fought to create and protect jobs. We will never apologize for doing so.鈥�
Trudeau and his staff have maintained throughout the SNC-Lavalin affair that they never improperly pressured Wilson-Raybould; they only wanted to ensure she had considered every lawful tool to avoid a criminal conviction that could cripple the company and potentially put thousands of employees out of work.
Wilson-Raybould maintains she was moved out of the justice portfolio in a mid-January cabinet shuffle as punishment for refusing to comply.
Last week, she released a surreptitiously recorded audio of a phone conversation with Privy Council clerk Wernick, the country鈥檚 top bureaucrat, as part of additional evidence to bolster her claim of improper pressure. But that too seemed to backfire, galvanizing Liberal MPs in the belief that she could no longer be trusted.
鈥淚f a politician secretly records a conversation with anyone, it鈥檚 wrong,鈥� Trudeau said in explaining Wilson-Raybould鈥檚 expulsion. 鈥淲hen that politician is a cabinet minister secretly recording a public servant, it鈥檚 wrong. And when that cabinet minister is the attorney general of sa国际传媒, secretly recording the clerk of the Privy Council, it鈥檚 unconscionable.鈥�
In the call, Wernick repeatedly asked Wilson-Raybould why she was not using all the tools at her disposal on the SNC-Lavalin case. She pushed back, saying she would not override the decision of the director of public prosecutions.
Wernick told her Trudeau was 鈥渜uite determined鈥� on the matter and would likely 鈥渇ind a way to get it done one way or another.鈥�
NDP MP Jenny Kwan said Trudeau鈥檚 move Tuesday was an extension of that attitude 鈥� he鈥檇 decided he was going to get his way and threw two unco-operative women under the bus, she said.
In her appeal to her caucusmates, Wilson-Raybould did not mention the secret recording. She argued that she rejected the prime minister鈥檚 pressure on SNC-Lavalin because she was standing up for Liberal values.
鈥淚 know many of you are angry, hurt, and frustrated. And frankly so am I, and I can only speak for myself,鈥� Wilson-Raybould wrote. 鈥淚 am angry, hurt, and frustrated because I feel and believe I was upholding the values that we all committed to. In giving the advice I did, and taking the steps I did, I was trying to help protect the prime minister and the government from a horrible mess.
鈥淚 am not the one who tried to interfere in sensitive proceedings, I am not the one who made it public, and I am not the one who publicly denied what happened. But I am not going to go over all of the details here again. Enough has been said.鈥�
Liberal MPs dismissed the letter as 鈥渢oo little, too late,鈥� as Toronto MP Judy Sgro put it.
Oliphant acknowledged that ejecting two prominent former cabinet ministers 鈥� both women, one a prominent Indigenous leader before she ran for Parliament 鈥� will mean the party has to work on public perceptions of its commitments to equality and reconciliation.
Trudeau will have to begin that immediately. His schedule Wednesday includes a speech before Daughters of the Vote, which takes 338 young women to Ottawa to promote their involvement in politics. It鈥檚 followed by an appearance at a meeting of a committee of leaders working on Inuit-Crown relations.
