The Liberal MP for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam is standing behind Justin Trudeau despite the prime minister’s cabinet woes.
Today (Tuesday), MP Ron McKinnon told The Tri-City News he is “absolutely” supporting Trudeau in the wake of the resignations by Jody Wilson-Raybould as veterans affairs and Jane Philpott as treasury board president.
Philpott, who cited a loss of confidence over the government’s handling of SNC-Lavalin affair, exited Monday after testimony from Wilson-Raybould before a Commons committee last week.
Wilson-Raybould alleged 11 officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and other offices pressured her — when she was attorney general and justice minister — to override a decision to prosecute the Quebec company on bribery charges in connection with contracts in Libya.
McKinnon, who is a member of the justice committee but is not on the panel that’s investigating Wilson-Raybould claims, said he’s worked with both MPs since 2015: Philpott, on his Good Samaritan Drug Overdoes Act private member’s bill, which came into law two years ago, and Wilson-Raybould, on the justice committee.
Asked about his constituents’ reaction to the Hill turbulence, McKinnon said he has fielded “the odd voice of concern…. We’re still looking into the matter.”
But the first-term MP said he’s confident the governing party will weather the storm and “stand on our record of success” as it heads into the fall election, noting job creation, tax reduction for the middle class and climate-change policies. “The economy is robust.”
McKinnon also said he’s confident about his own political performance since 2015 and he looks forward to the federal campaign. “I’ve done good work,” he said.
Still, Port Moody-Coquitlam NDP MP Fin Donnelly, who is not running for re-election, told The Tri-City News last week he found Wilson-Raybould’s words to be “damning. [In] 3.5 hours of testimony, she was lucid, credible, believable,” he said.
Donnelly said the case of vice-admiral Mark Norman could also explode into another SNC-Lavalin-type story — one that could continue to damage the Liberal party in the lead up to the elections.
Norman was suspended as the military's second-in-command in January 2017 and charged last March with one count of breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets to undermine cabinet's decision-making process on a major shipbuilding deal.
Last month, one of Norman’s lawyers argued the discussions between the Crown lawyers and Privy Council Office were "more concerning" than allegations the Prime Minister's Office tried to intervene in the criminal case against SNC-Lavalin.
“I think it [all] will play a big role in shaping the tone of the 2019 election,” Donnelly predicted.
In the meantime, Donnelly is circulating an NDP-backed petition calling for a public inquiry into the SNC-Lavalin affair “so that people can let the government know that this is the right thing to do,” Donnelly said.
Last week, Conservative Party leader Andrew Sheer called on Trudeau to resign, saying the Liberal government had lost moral authority to govern.
Across the Tri-Cities, SNC-Lavalin’s footprint is substantial: The company built the Coast Meridian Overpass in Port Coquitlam, and it has had a significant hand in building out the SkyTrain network, including the Evergreen Extension.
— with files from Stefan Labbé and Canadian Press
