Mr. Speaker, SNC-Lavalin, an engineering firm, is facing serious criminal charges for bribery. We know the company met with the Prime Minister's Office a number of times, and it appears that a special deal was in the making. Court documents show that federal prosecutors had already rejected a settlement with SNC-Lavalin and decided to move forward with a criminal trial. Nevertheless, evidence would suggest the Prime Minister thought it was worth his while to try to strong-arm the Attorney General into doing his dirty work for him.
We all know this did not work, however. In retaliation, the Prime Minister removed the justice minister from her cabinet post. She later resigned from cabinet altogether. Interestingly, the Prime Minister's senior adviser and best friend, Gerald Butts, resigned a few days later.
Despite the Prime Minister's so-called commitment to openness and transparency, the Liberals have blocked every single attempt made in this place to bring about accountability and get to the bottom of this situation.
It is clear the Prime Minister is trying to cover up what really happened, and Canadians deserve fairness and transparency. Today and every day, we will continue to call upon the government to do the right thing and for the Prime Minister to tell the truth.