Mr. Speaker, first, I would point out that the legislation the government drafted in the budget, ironically, to amend the Criminal Code, created 715.3 of that code, which allows for deferred prosecution agreements, specifically excludes economic factors from the consideration of prosecutors in offering those deals to a criminally accused corporation.
The Liberals claim they were trying to protect jobs, but the bill that they introduced and passed, prevents them from using deferred prosecution agreements for that purpose. Therefore, we know they could not have been doing this to protect jobs. Their own legislation makes that impossible.
We further know that the government is currently reviewing the policy banning companies with criminal convictions from bidding on federal contracts. In other words, the government is of the view that it could allow SNC-Lavalin. after a possible conviction. to continue to bid on those contracts, without interfering in the prosecution at all.
All of these factors demonstrate that the Liberals interference in this case had nothing to do with jobs and had everything to do with protecting the alleged criminals at SNC-Lavalin.