Like a character in a Greek tragedy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is suffering for perpetrating an anti-democratic abomination he once decried: an omnibus legislation.
Keeping that promise may have saved him from accusations that his office pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, who suddenly resigned from cabinet on Tuesday, to let SNC-Lavalin negotiate a so-called remediation agreement instead of facing full prosecution for millions of dollars worth of corruption in Libya.
Before getting into the gritty details, let’s start with that pious promise about omnibus bills.
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Apparently, the prime minister’s view changed. Last year, the 556-page Budget Implementation Act included a change to the Criminal Code to allow for the possibility of remediation agreements instead of prosecutions for companies accused of corruption.
Only a few were alert enough to see the problem.
“Because this is an omnibus bill, no experts have given evidence about the Criminal Code amendments,” wrote defence lawyer Michael Spratt. “(A separate bill) would allow every MP to know what the heck is in the government’s legislation … And it would probably result in a better law.”
Read Aaron Wudrick’s full article: National Post
