The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed Monday that it is not investigating allegations of political interference by the Trudeau government in the SNC-Lavalin case. After discussing with several stakeholders, the police force closed the file because there were not enough clues about the commission of a crime.
In 2019, the Ethics Commissioner determined that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act by trying unsuccessfully to influence his Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to ask federal Crown prosecutors to reach an out-of-court settlement to avoid a criminal trial against the Quebec engineering firm SNC- Lavalin.
SNC-Lavalin was facing corruption charges in connection with the payment of bribes in Libya under the regime of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. A division of the company ended up pleading guilty to a fraud charge in this case in December 2019.
The RCMP then received an official complaint about the actions of Mr. Trudeau and other members of his entourage in this case. Former Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould had publicly stated that she had been contacted by the police about it.
In-depth review
On Monday, advocacy group Democracy Watch said it made an access to information request to the RCMP about allegations of political interference in the case, and was told that certain documents could not be made public, because the case “is under investigation”. The agency concluded that a proper criminal investigation had been opened, which was immediately denied by the police.
“The RCMP is not investigating allegations of political interference in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion to secure a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin,” police spokeswoman Christy Veenstra said. Federal, in an email to The Press.
The response sent to Democracy Watch was drafted “based on information available at the time,” the spokeswoman said, causing some confusion on Monday.
“The RCMP Sensitive and International Investigations Section has conducted a review of the allegations. As part of this review, the RCMP spoke to various sources, gathered information from them and reviewed the matter in the most thorough, objective and professional manner possible,” explained Mr.me Veenstra.
“After a full and impartial review of all available information, the RCMP has determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal offense and the file has been closed,” added the spokesperson.
Fine of 280 million
After his conviction, SNC-Lavalin was fined $280 million and given three years probation including control measures to prevent a recurrence.
Subsequently, in another corruption case involving a public contract to repair the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in the early 2000s, the company reached an agreement with the authorities to reach an amicable agreement and avoid a criminal trial. . Two former executives of the firm are however awaiting trial in this case on a personal basis.