The Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau is under pressure: In the scandal surrounding a suspected interference in judicial matters now another minister of his cabinet came back – the affair comes at an inopportune time.
In the corruption and bribery scandal over allegedly suppressed investigations against an engineering firm, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lost another cabinet member. Jane Philpott, who overlooked the government’s finances, submitted her resignation. She could no longer defend the government’s actions, she informed.
For Trudeau, the affair is therefore also at an inopportune because elections are pending in the fall. The background is allegations that investigations by former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould against the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin have been suppressed because of corruption and kickbacks. Prime Minister Trudeau has denied any personal misconduct in the affair.
Money to Gaddafi?
The company, headquartered in Montreal, is accused of having paid bribes in the amount of 31 million euros between 2001 and 2011 to the family of the Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi.
In the case of a guilty verdict, the engineering and construction giant, with a total of 50,000 employees over ten years, should not bid more on any public projects such as mining, transport and infrastructure.
Former Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould had been postponed to the post of Veteran Minister in January and then resigned. After that, Trudeau rebuilt his cabinet.
