Federal justice minister and attorney general David Lametti said Wednesday afternoon he still has faith in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following the release of a report from ethics commissioner Mario Dion concluding that Trudeau violated Canada’s conflict of interest law.
“The prime minister always felt that he was acting in the best interests of Canadians. Yes, there has been a difference in interpretation of that. We have better clarity now, given that we have the ethics commissioner’s report, but I do not doubt his sincerity in wanting to have a better country and I do not doubt his leadership in that regard,” Lametti told reporters at a funding announcement in Edmonton.
The report, released Wednesday, concluded that the prime minister improperly pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to halt the criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. Trudeau said he accepted the findings of the report, but that he disagrees with a number of the ethics commissioner’s conclusions.
“The ethics commissioner has given his report. He has made his findings. The prime minister, as you heard today, has accepted responsibility. There’s no question, there are many things we could do better,” said Lametti.
The justice minister also made note of the report from former Liberal minister Anne McLellan, released by the Prime Minister’s Office Wednesday afternoon, recommending that the shared roles of attorney general and justice minister not be split.
“I think we can move forward positively. The one thing that is clear in all of this is that we need better clarity in terms of the interaction between the attorney general and other members of cabinet. And so we’ve got some really good ideas, moving forward some good expert opinion,” said Lametti, who reiterated that he had never felt any undue pressure from the prime minister, or any member of his office or team, to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case.
With the federal election slated for Oct. 21, Lametti suggested the Liberals would continue to focus on the investments they have made in innovation, infrastructure, and in First Nations communities, for example.
“We’re going to move forward enthusiastically in an electoral process, presenting a positive vision of Canada. We have created, I think, a great many number of positive changes in Canadian society over the past four years,” Lametti said.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
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