Group of Citizens Vows to Initiate Private Prosecution Against Prime Minister in SNC-Lavalin Scandal

February 19, 2025 TruthUSA

Democracy Watch is initiating a court application seeking approval to launch a private prosecution concerning the SNC-Lavalin scandal. They allege that the RCMP failed to adequately investigate potential obstruction of justice and breach of trust by the prime minister and his associates.

The group is requesting approval from the Ontario Court of Justice to move forward with a private prosecution of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for pressuring and directing others to pressure then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to halt the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin in 2018.

The application will be submitted to the court on Feb. 19, as announced by Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher during a press conference in Ottawa on the same day.

The ethics commissioner found Trudeau in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act, while the RCMP concluded its criminal investigation into obstruction of justice and intimidation of a justice participant without laying charges.

Democracy Watch has acquired over 3,600 pages of RCMP records through the access-to-information regime. Conacher stated that the documents indicate the investigation was “weak” and “incomplete.”

According to Democracy Watch, the RCMP only interviewed four out of 15 witnesses, a fact that the RCMP confirmed in a House of Commons committee last year. Conacher also expressed concerns about the interpretation of evidence in the investigation by law enforcement.

“The RCMP essentially portrayed everything said by those involved in pressuring the attorney general, from the Prime Minister downwards, favorably, while casting doubts and consistently tilting the investigation in favor of not prosecuting anyone,” as per Conacher.

Conacher mentioned that the RCMP is withholding information obtained from interviews with key witnesses, including former minister Wilson-Raybould.

In the RCMP redacted interview transcripts obtained by Democracy Watch, Wilson-Raybould informed the RCMP that she and her staff faced pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to provide SNC-Lavalin a deal to support the company’s presence in Canada and aid the Liberals’ re-election campaign.

“We can have the best policy in the word but we need to get re-elected,” Wilson-Raybould quoted a PMO staffer as saying.

Conacher also highlighted that the RCMP changed the standard for determining if obstruction of justice occurred using an “illegal and incorrect legal standard for making that assessment.”

The RCMP was reached for comment but did not respond by publication time.

Conacher outlined that the process will involve a justice of the peace deciding on whether the evidence presented by Democracy Watch warrants a pre-enquete hearing. Following that, the Attorney General of Ontario could choose to take over the prosecution if the hearing concludes that a private prosecution can proceed.

Conacher expressed a preference for a non-partisan special prosecutor to take charge, considering that the attorney general is a politician from the ruling party. Democracy Watch also noted that the RCMP should not have been responsible for the investigation since the top officials serve at the pleasure of the cabinet.

Committee Testimony

The House of Commons ethics committee carried out an examination last year regarding the RCMP’s decision not to pursue a criminal investigation into Trudeau’s involvement in the case of the Quebec firm SNC-Lavalin, now known as AtkinsRéalis.

RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme informed the committee in February 2024 that there was no political pressure to close the investigation. He also mentioned that the government’s refusal to fully disclose its information on the matter limited the force’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation.

Duheme and an RMCP lead investigator stressed to the committee that there was no attempt made to interview Trudeau, the main subject. They stated that they did not find sufficient evidence through open sources and interviews to obtain a search warrant, leading to the discontinuation of the investigation.

Trudeau faced queries from the Conservatives concerning the government’s obstruction in releasing cabinet confidences to the RCMP following Duheme’s testimony.

“The Opposition is digging into the past to try and bring up things that were settled many years ago,” Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on Feb. 28, 2024.

The ethics commissioner found Trudeau in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act in a 2019 report, stating that the “evidence showed there were many instances in which Mr. Trudeau, either directly or through his associates, sought to influence the Attorney General.”

Following the release of the report, Trudeau acknowledged taking “responsibility for the mistakes that I made” but declined to apologize for wanting to protect Canadian jobs.

Trudeau reshuffled Wilson-Raybould out of the justice portfolio in January 2019 before ejecting her from the Liberal caucus in early April 2019.

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