On Parliament Hill

In December 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau boarded a private helicopter in the Bahamas and flew to an island owned by Muslim billionaire and lobbyist, the Aga Khan. The Federal Ethics Commissioner investigated the trip and found that Justin Trudeau had committed multiple violations of federal law. As a result, Justin Trudeau became the first sitting Prime Minister to be found guilty of breaking federal law.

Trudeau and his team are no strangers when it comes to ethical lapses.

Shortly after his election, the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet accepted cash-for-access at a series of private fundraisers with foreign lobbyists.

In 2018, Finance Minister Bill Morneau was investigated over allegations that he had introduced pension legislation that could further his interests as a shareholder of Morneau Shepell Inc., which is a major administrator of pension plans. Morneau was also fined by the Ethics Commissioner for failing to disclose that he owned a French Villa.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc was found to have violated Federal Ethics laws when he gave a lucrative fishing contract to a relative.

Then Health Minister, Jane Philpott was investigated for using the services of a supporter to bill taxpayers higher rates for limo rides.

Then there was SNC Lavalin, where Justin Trudeau, Bill Morneau, and Canada’s chief public servant Michael Wernick (and their staffs) pressured former Justice Minister Jody Wilson Raybould to illegally intervene in the ongoing criminal prosecution of the long time Liberal donor. When she refused, Trudeau removed her as Justice Minister. When she spoke out, she was the victim of a Liberal smear campaign. Justin Trudeau also used his power to shut down the Justice Committee’s investigation into his actions.

Philpott, who resigned over Trudeau’s actions, later told Macleans magazine that what had taken place went well beyond what the Ethics Commissioner would be able to uncover.

The report on SNC Lavalin was due at the end of June. Despite this, Justin Trudeau has yet to make the report’s findings public.

Admiral Mark Norman also fell victim to the Liberal smear machine when he was falsely accused of sharing Cabinet secrets. Moreover, the Privy Council’s Office, again under Trudeau, refused to release essential documents to court officials – documents that proved Norman’s innocence. All because he stood up to Justin Trudeau.

Then there were the cases of Liberal MP’s like Raj Grewal, whose millions of dollars in gambling debts were suddenly paid off by an unknown source. Or Celina Caesar-Chavannes, who chose to sit as an independent, citing Trudeau’s bullying behavior when he didn’t get his way.

The list goes on.

Every time Justin Trudeau is faced with his own or his government’s lack of ethical conduct he makes excuses – as in the case of his alleged groping of a female reporter. He attempts to silence his critics through bullying or by shutting down investigations. Or – as well documented by his ever-changing stories about what happened with SNC Lavalin – he blatantly misrepresents the facts.

This list begs the question: are these ethical lapses? Or are Justin Trudeau’s Liberals mired in a culture of corruption?

Either way, Canadians deserve better.