On Parliament Hill

On Monday, the Prime Minister’s closest and most-trusted political advisor, Gerald Butts, resigned from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

His exit followed on the heels of former Justice Minister and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, who resigned from Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet last week.

These two high profile resignations are the result of allegations that the PMO pressured Wilson-Raybould to illegally intervene in an ongoing criminal prosecution of Quebec construction company – and major Liberal donor – SNC Lavalin.

SNC-Lavalin stands accused of fraud and bribery charges and has previously faced charges for making illegal campaign contributions.

To date, the Liberals have offered a myriad of explanations for Wilson-Raybould’s exit but have stonewalled any attempt to speak to Ms. Wilson Raybould and other key players in the affair, including Gerald Butts.

Mr. Butts’ resignation is the clearest indication yet that there is much more to the SNC-Lavalin Affair than Justin Trudeau has admitted to. As the maestro of Trudeau’s messaging, do Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Butts really expect Canadians to believe the headline, “Nothing happened, so I’m quitting”?

The events of the last two weeks are not the actions of a Prime Minister with nothing to hide. If the Prime Minister and his office have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, then why did his closest advisor suddenly resign?

The Trudeau Liberals have been investigated by the Ethic’s Commissioner on five occasions since they took office in 2015. Justin Trudeau is the only sitting Prime Minister in Canadian history to be found guilty of ethics violations and now he finds himself under investigation again.

Given his long string of ethical lapses it should come as no surprise that this Prime Minister believes he has done nothing wrong. This Prime Minister believes he is above the law. This affair is an example of wealthy powerful people protecting their wealthy powerful friends, at the expense of Canadians and at the expense of the truth.

Unlike the dictatorships that Justin Trudeau has expressed his affinity for, we are, and have always been, a country governed by the rule of law. By definition, that means that when we, as parliamentarians, pass a law on behalf of the people who elected us, we are not above that law. We are all subject to it. We are all equal under it. We are bound by its conventions. And our political or societal status does not entitle us to special treatment under it.

These core principles of the rule of law must be upheld for any democracy to function. As history has shown, whenever the rule of law is impeded, superseded, subverted, or corrupted, the consequences are dire.

We cannot claim to be a country under the rule of law when political agendas can interfere with and dictate the course of justice. And that is precisely what this Prime Minister and his office stand accused of.

Justin Trudeau promised Canadians open and transparent government and he has betrayed that promise.

Canada’s Conservative’s will continue to demand that the Prime Minister wave his attorney-client privilege and call for a fulsome investigation to hold Justin Trudeau accountable. We will continue to seek the truth for Canadians.