BREAKING: Jane Philpott resigns from Trudeau cabinet
Mornings with Simi
English - March 04, 2019 21:15 - 6 minutes - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingBusiness News News Society & Culture Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Treasury Board president Jane Philpott has resigned from the federal cabinet, saying she's lost confidence in the way the Trudeau government has dealt with the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Philpott's resignation comes just less than a month after former Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet because of allegations that the Prime Minister's Office had improperly pressured her to stop a criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.
In her resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Jane Philpott says:
"It is untenable for me to continue to serve as a cabinet minister.
"Unfortunately, the evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former Attorney General to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts have raised serious concerns for me.
"The solemn principles at stake are the independence and integrity of our justice system. It is a fundamental doctrine of the rule of law that our Attorney General should not be subjected to political pressure or interference regarding the exercise of her prosecutorial discretion in criminal cases.
“Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised."
Guest: Mercedes Stephenson
Ottawa Bureau Chief for Global News
Host of The West Block
Treasury Board president Jane Philpott has resigned from the federal cabinet, saying she's lost confidence in the way the Trudeau government has dealt with the SNC-Lavalin affair.
Philpott's resignation comes just less than a month after former Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet because of allegations that the Prime Minister's Office had improperly pressured her to stop a criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.
In her resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Jane Philpott says:
"It is untenable for me to continue to serve as a cabinet minister.
"Unfortunately, the evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former Attorney General to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts have raised serious concerns for me.
"The solemn principles at stake are the independence and integrity of our justice system. It is a fundamental doctrine of the rule of law that our Attorney General should not be subjected to political pressure or interference regarding the exercise of her prosecutorial discretion in criminal cases.
“Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised."
Guest: Mercedes Stephenson
Ottawa Bureau Chief for Global News
Host of The West Block