It’s easy to say ‘all politicians are the same,’ and sometimes there is truth too that, but there are also some real differences.
“SNC-Lavalin tried to get a deal from Stephen Harper, failed. Tried to get a deal from Justin Trudeau. Succeeded.”
That’s what journalist John Ibbitson said over the weekend, in a clip that shows the contrast between how the Harper Government and the Trudeau Government dealt with SNC-Lavalin:
“SNC-Lavalin tried to make a deal with the Harper government, but got nowhere. So they decided to wait for the Trudeau Liberals to take power … #elxn43 via @JohnIbbitson”
https://twitter.com/punditclass/status/1163141614992105473
Conservative MP Harold Albrecht commented:
“Journalist @JohnIbbitson makes a good point here.
SNC Lavalin approached our previous Conservative Government to help them find a way out of their prosecution, but they got nowhere.
Once Justin Trudeau was elected, they were in his office within weeks and got what they wanted”
Journalist @JohnIbbitson makes a good point here.
SNC Lavalin approached our previous Conservative Government to help them find a way out of their prosecution, but they got nowhere.
Once Justin Trudeau was elected, they were in his office within weeks and got what they wanted https://t.co/KmD68G6XRL
— Harold Albrecht, MP for Kitchener-Conestoga (@Albrecht4KitCon) August 19, 2019
People often say that “all politicians are the same,” and there is certainly some truth to that. However, as we can see in the handling of SNC-Lavalin, there are some big differences.
SNC-Lavalin wanted to use their influence over the government in order to escape potential prosecution for their wrongdoings. The Conservatives refused to be influenced, while the Liberals under Justin Trudeau went to extreme lengths to do the bidding of SNC-Lavalin.
The Liberals brought in a new Deferred Prosecution law, tried to pressure former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould into overruling the Director of Public Prosecutions after she had decided to go forward with the case against the company, and then lied about it.
That is a big contrast, and it’s something Canadians need to know about.
In a world where massive corporations already have too much power, the Liberals are totally beholden to the corporate elites, rather than the Canadian People, and there’s no reason to think that will change. By contrast, the Conservatives – at least on SNC-Lavalin – have proven that there is a line they won’t cross to serve corporate power, and that is worth noting.
Spencer Fernando
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