Trudeau Says SNC-Lavalin Affair ‘Settled’ Even Though RCMP Says Stonewalling Limited Investigation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wait to continue escorting newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus to his seat, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Oct. 3, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rebuffed new Opposition questions regarding the SNC-Lavalin affair as “digging into the past,” though RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme recently admitted the Privy Council Office (PCO) denied access to information which limited the RCMP’s investigation into the issue.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Mr. Trudeau traded fire over the topic during Question Period on Feb. 28, with Mr. Poilievre connecting Commissioner Duheme’s recent remarks to the potential of future disclosure of documents relevant to ongoing ArriveCan investigations.

“According to the RCMP commissioner, [Mr. Trudeau] not only refused to be questioned in the SNC-Lavalin criminal investigation … but he blocked key Cabinet documents from being included in those investigations,” said Mr. Poilievre.

“So once again, will the prime minister waive Cabinet confidentiality and turn over all the [ArriveCan] documents?”

“The Opposition is digging into the past to try and bring up things that were settled many years ago,” responded Mr. Trudeau.

Commissioner Duheme testified on Feb. 27 before the House of Commons ethics committee, which is initiating a study on the RCMP’s decision against pursuing a criminal investigation into Mr. Trudeau’s involvement in the SNC-Lavalin affair.

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Conservative MP Michael Cooper inquired at the meeting if the PCO’s refusal to expand information disclosure significantly hindered the investigation into potential obstruction of justice by the prime minister. Commissioner Duheme acknowledged that the limited information disclosure restricted the RCMP’s ability to conduct a full investigation.

In 2019, the RCMP began investigating Mr. Trudeau for potential obstruction of justice and intimidation of a justice system participant. This investigation stemmed from Mr. Trudeau’s decision to remove then-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould from Cabinet due to her stance on prosecuting SNC-Lavalin.

Mr. Trudeau had urged Ms. Wilson-Raybould to provide the Quebec engineering firm, renamed AtkinsRéalis in September 2023, with a deferred prosecution agreement over charges of corruption and fraud related to its business in Libya, according to the federal ethics commissioner’s findings.

Mr. Poilievre on Feb. 28 emphasized that full access to all relevant documents is required for Auditor General Karen Hogan to calculate how much ArriveCan ended up costing.

Mr. Trudeau said the government is taking the ArriveCan issue seriously, but made no commitment to releasing any documents.

“We are taking seriously any concerns around procurement,” he said.

“There will be consequences for anyone who took care of our COVID protection efforts to get themselves rich.”

Ms. Hogan’s report on Feb. 12 revealed that the ArriveCan app, designed to verify the COVID-19 vaccine status of individuals entering Canada, incurred a total cost of $59.5 million. However, the report highlighted the inability to ascertain the precise cost because of insufficient documentation on the app’s procurement and development.