My latest Sun column: Trudeau’s #LavScam pride goeth before the fall

— 04.01.2019 12:32 PM

Pride goeth before the fall. And Justin Trudeau, always a proud one, is rapidly falling towards defeat.

Ask a pollster. The Angus Reid Institute, for instance, released a survey last week. They found that Trudeau’s Liberals are a full nine points behind Andrew Scheer’s Conservative Party. And the New Democrats and the Green Party are benefiting too, Angus Reid says.

Ipsos, another national polling agency, also released some startling numbers last week. And Ipsos was even worse for the Grits. The firm suggested the Liberals are losing by ten points to the Conservatives — and found, incredibly, that U.S. President Donald Trump is more popular than Justin Trudeau.

So, right now, Trudeau is heading towards ignominious defeat. That’s the reality. Is it just Lavscam that did it?

No. The writing was on the proverbial wall last year.

The rest is here, gratis.


Comments (26)

Late night caller

— 04.01.2019 05:00 AM

So, I am authorized to tell you this much.

Last night, I got a call from an intermediary. Someone I trust. I was asked if I would accept a call from someone in Ottawa. Someone important. And I was asked if I would keep it strictly confidential.

I said I would only do so if the person on the other end of the line observed certain basic rules. For example, no threats. No promises – requested or extended. No record of it, in any form.

I thought about it, and I finally said okay. And then this person called up, and it was…weird.

He expressed some regret, and – eventually – I expressed some, too. He undertook to change his approach, and I undertook to drop the #LavScam stuff for a while. (Until I see a change, that is. Until some people up there start acting like what they are – which is, individuals interested only in doing the right thing.)

Anyway, that’s all I can tell you. I’m not going to tell you his name, so don’t even bother asking. But it’s evident to me, one, that there are real people on either side. And, two, we all need to do a bit of self-examination.

This is mine.


Comments (33)

Tale of the tape

— 03.31.2019 09:37 PM


Comments (17)

A reminder of what #LavScam is all about

— 03.31.2019 09:10 AM

This.



As we enter the week in which Justin Trudeau will almost certainly expel two women who stood up for the principle of prosecutorial independence, here is what the prosecutors themselves had to say about that – and on the very day Trudeau refused to apologize for #LavScam.

They did not issue that tweet by accident. They were not unaware of the impact it would have, coming – as it did – a couple hours after Justin Trudeau angrily refused to apologize for possibly obstructing justice.

It was Canada’s Public Prosecution Service sending up a flare. It was a warning, from those who would know, that something critically important is at risk.

And that is this: the constitutional principle that our criminal justice system needs to be free and fair. The notion that serious cases of corporate corruption, as SNC-Lavalin is, needs to be fought in open court, with lawyers – not in backrooms, with lobbyists.

“Free from political influence.” That is what motivated Jody Wilson-Raybould to do what she did – and, later, for Jane Philpott and Celina Caesar-Chavannes, to do what they did. They lost their careers to that. They have been defamed and demeaned for that.

We must have a criminal justice system that is free from political influence. We must ensure that justice is free and fair, and not for sale to the wealthy.

That is what this scandal is all about. And that is how history will tell it, too.


Comments (23)

“He is going to get this done one way or another.”

— 03.29.2019 03:55 PM

Here’s the audio.

And here are her documents.


Comments (62)

#LavScam shocker: she has tapes

— 03.29.2019 10:23 AM

Boom.

Materials submitted to the Commons Justice Committee this week indicate Jody Wilson-Raybould recorded at least one of the contentious conversations at the heart of the SNC-Lavalin affair, multiple sources tell CBC News.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Wilson-Raybould’s exit from cabinet was a result of a “breakdown of trust” between Wilson-Raybould and the Prime Minister’s Office. The existence of a recording suggests that trust may have broken down well before she left cabinet on Feb. 12.

The audio recording, or a transcript of it, is expected to be part of a new submission to the committee from Wilson-Raybould to be released later today. That submission also includes a written statement, emails and text messages.


Comments (34)

David Scott, RIP

— 03.28.2019 05:05 PM

I was very sorry to hear from a friend that he had passed away.

I can now tell you a story I have never told anyone. During the “Gomery Pyle” sponsorship inquiry, I was using this website to aggressively defend Jean Chretien – and highlight the shortcomings of a process that was clearly rigged against him.

I was not acting as a lawyer. I was acting as Chretien’s pit bull.

One morning, I got a call from David Scott. He was angry.

“What the Hell are you doing?” he said, before I could even say hello.

“I’m saying the things that you and your client can’t, but should, Mr. Scott,” I said.

There was a long, long pause.

He burst into laughter. “Very well, carry on,” he said. “But don’t fuck up my case, Kinsella!”

I said I wouldn’t.

RIP, to one of the finest lawyers this country has ever produced.


Comments (0)