Commissioner Brenda Lucki Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Headquarters 73 Leikin Drive Ottawa, ON K1A 0R2 February 28, 2019 Commissioner, In light of the recent testimony of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould has exposed a disturbing pattern of events regarding alleged
political interference by the Prime Minister’s Office
and the Prime Minister himself in an ongoing criminal prosecution.
What we now know is that the Prime Minister’s political staff, and senior officials reporting to him,
met with SNC-Lavalin an astonishing 31 times. What we also know is that following every development in SNC-Lavali
n’s prosecution, the firm swiftly found an audience with those close to
the Prime Minister.
“
Undue pressure
”
was placed on former Attorney General by political actors urging her to exercise her authority to overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions, who had rendered a decision in this matter on Sept 4, 2018. Given the subsequent chain of events that include portions of conversations that reference immense pressure and political interference, and the subsequent removal of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice from that position in relation to the reported conversations, followed by her resignation, there is reason to believe that pressure and interference did occur. As the Honourable Wilson-
Raybould said in her testimony, “
I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to
politically interfere
in the exercise o
f prosecutorial discretion.”
Per section 139(2) of the
Criminal Code
it is prohibited to attempt to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice. We believe that there are reasonable and probable grounds to suspect that
the conduct of the Prime Minister’s Office has crossed that threshold.
It is contrary to the section 423.1(1) of the
Criminal Code
to engage in any conduct with the intent to provoke fear in the Attorney General. We, the undersigned, have served Canada as either federal or provincial Attorney General. In our shared view, ordinary Canadians, who do not benefit from political connections, have been charged under these sections with much less evidence.
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We are aware of media reports that the RCMP is seized with this matter. However, we write today to urge you to ensure that you use all resources at your disposal to fully and fairly investigate any potential criminality and provide Canadians with the truth in this crucial matter, as it strikes at the core of the rule of law and independence of our justice system. Thank you in advance for your attention to this very important issue. Sincerely, __________________________ ___________________________________ The Hon. Peter MacKay PC, QC The Hon. Douglas Grinslade Lewis PC, QC Minister of Justice of Canada Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada 2013
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2015 1989
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1990 __________________________ Jonathan Denis QC Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Minister of Justice of Alberta 2012
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2015
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The Hon. Cecil Clarke Attorney General of Nova Scotia 2007 - 2009
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Colin Gabelmann Attorney General of British Columbia 1991
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1995