New AG Lametti says he will resist any attempts to pressure him on SNC case
Posted April 4, 2019 2:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — Attorney general David Lametti says he will resist any attempts to pressure him on the SNC-Lavalin criminal prosecution.
Lametti is now in the hot seat in the controversial court case that has rocked the Liberal government, resulting in the resignations of two cabinet ministers, the prime minister’s most trusted adviser and the country’s top civil servant.
The director of public prosecutions decided last fall not to negotiate a deferred-prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin, which is facing charges of bribery, and former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould says she was inappropriately pressured by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his senior staff to overrule that decision.
On his way into question period Thursday, where the SNC saga is dominating the House of Commons again, Lametti said when he puts on his attorney-general hat, nobody will direct him to do anything.
He said he wouldn’t comment on the details of the case, but said he did receive routine briefings on the file when he became the minister.
Sources tell both the Toronto Star newspaper and CBC News that Wilson-Raybould made ensuring Lametti didn’t offer a remediation agreement to SNC-Lavalin a condition to Trudeau before she stepped down from cabinet in February.
The Canadian Press
