TORONTO (AP) - The latest on questions in Canada over whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office tried to wrongly influence the former attorney general on whether to prosecute a major Canadian engineering company (all times local):
8:25 p.m.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he completely disagrees with his former attorney general and says that he and staff always acted appropriately on a potential prosecution of a major Canadian engineering company.
Ex-attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson Raybould testified earlier Wednesday that she experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people in Trudeau’s government to inappropriately interfere in the matter, including receiving “veiled threats.”
Wilson-Raybould called it “incredibly inappropriate” but said she didn’t think it was illegal. She said 11 people tried to interfere in her prosecutorial discretion including Trudeau.
Trudeau says the decision to avoid a prosecution and enter into a remediation agreement with Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin was hers and hers alone.
The company was facing allegations of corruption involving government contracts in Libya.
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7:40 p.m.
Canada’s former attorney general has testified she experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to inappropriately interfere in the prosecution of a major Canadian engineering company, including receiving “veiled threats.”
Ex-justice minister and ex-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould called it “incredibly inappropriate” but said Wednesday that she didn’t think it was illegal. She said 11 people tried to interfere in her prosecutorial discretion including Trudeau.
She says Trudeau told her that if Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin didn’t get a deferred prosecution there would be jobs lost and the company would move its headquarters from Montreal to London.
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