Justice Committee on Feb. 21st, 2019

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[David Lametti]

—attacks on the criminal justice system prompted me to say that the particular life I was participating in was insufficient to give back to Canada.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, could we please have some decorum?

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Housefather]

Guys, I'm asking everybody, when somebody has a question, to try to be respectful. If you have a point of order, you make the point of order.

Ms. Khalid, you have 45 more seconds.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I have a very short question.

Mr. Lametti, since being appointed as the Attorney General, what conversations, if any, have you had with the former attorney general?

[David Lametti]

I had initial conversations, but not substantive. They were the kinds of pleasantries that one would exchange on the exchange of the position.

When the story broke in the Globe and Mail, it was my view that, as Attorney General, I should maintain a position that would not compromise me or the office of Attorney General in any way, shape or form. In light of the fact that there would be already, very quickly afterwards, this contemplation of committee proceedings, contemplation of an ethics committee investigation, I felt it necessary to not engage in any conversations on this matter with my predecessor.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Housefather]

Thank you.

We will now hear from Mr. Paul-Hus.

Mr. Paul-Hus, when you’ve reached four minutes, I’ll let you know so that we can let Mr. Barrett speak. You have the floor.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Drouin, as Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, you should be able to answer me.

On September 4, when the decision was made to continue criminal proceedings against SNC-Lavalin, the company was informed of that fact. At what point was the Prime Minister’s Office informed of that fact; on the same day, before, or after?

[Nathalie Drouin]

I want to clarify that I am not the Director of Public Prosecutions...

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

... but the Deputy Director.

[Nathalie Drouin]

No, I am the Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General.

I have no information at all on specific files. So on September 4, the date you mentioned, I was not informed of that decision, and I know no more today than I did then.

What I know to be in the public domain is that sometime around October, I believe, SNC announced publicly that the Director of Public Prosecutions had denied the request. Those are the facts I am aware of.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

But in your role of legal advisor to the Attorney General, the role you referred to at the outset, you must surely have some interaction with the Public Prosecution Service, correct?

[Nathalie Drouin]

Yes. I should perhaps tell you that it is the responsibility of the Director of Public Prosecutions to keep the Attorney General abreast of important files. On a few occasions, depending on the files...

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

So, on September 4, when the Public Prosecution Service informed SNC...

[Nathalie Drouin]

I know nothing about that. This kind of information is not provided to the department.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

So the Attorney General is not informed about the situation.

[Nathalie Drouin]

I can’t answer that question, Mr. Paul-Hus. These are conversations about particular files that may or may not occur between the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Fine.

When the Prime Minister’s Office asked to meet with Ms. Wilson-Raybould on September 17, did she ask you for legal advice before that meeting, since this is part of your work?

[Nathalie Drouin]

In the exercise of my duties, I may have several conversations with a minister, and I will support that minister and the Attorney General as part of my duties.

My confidentiality obligations have been explained. I thus cannot tell you if I was or was not informed of these discussions, nor when, nor tell you about the advice I may or may not have given under those circumstances.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Since you must respect your duty of confidentiality, you cannot tell us today if Ms. Wilson-Raybould asked you for legal advice before her meeting with the Prime Minister on September 17. Is that correct?

[Nathalie Drouin]

That is my answer.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Fine.

Is that the case also for the December 5 meeting with Mr. Butts at the Château Laurier?

[Nathalie Drouin]

I can’t even confirm if I was or not aware of the discussions that may have taken place. We have regular conversations, and it is my responsibility to provide to the minister and Attorney General the tools he or she needs to fulfil their obligations. In doing so, however, I must respect my duty of confidentiality as well as my duty to...

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Drouin.

Mr. Lametti, you became minister on January 14. Before you were sworn in, did Prime Minister Trudeau speak to you about the SNC-Lavalin file?