Tag Archives: Corruption

The SNC-Lavalin Affair- Part II

 

Gerald Butts testimony before the House of Commons Justice Committee

The House of Commons Justice Committee is not a court of law.

This is obvious to everyone who has watched the recent testimony before that body.  Because the Committee is a political body, it is an extension of the ruling party, and it’s deliberations are not a search for the truth.  It is a Liberal dominated Committee hell-bent on  establishing political cover for the actions of the Liberal government.

The Committee however has some of the trappings of a court of law.  It calls witnesses and hears testimony but at the end of the day it does not reach any conclusions or make any rulings.

In short it is a political exercise.

The role of Mr. Butts at the Committee

If one were to draw parallels between the Committee hearings and a court of law it might look like this.

Ms. Wilson-Raybould was the complainant,  the prime witness for the prosecution.  She testified as to the alleged wrong doing perpetrated  by the Prime Minister, the PMO, the Clerk of the Privy Counsel and others in their attempt to interfere with her duties as the Attorney General in an attempt  influence the course of justice.

Mr. Butts appeared for the defence, in this case his own defence and defence of the government and its officials and most importantly in defence of the Prime Minister.

As in a court of law the defence does not need to prove that they (the accused) did not do what they are accused of.

All they need to do is raise a reasonable doubt and that was what Mr. Butts was there to do.

In the case of Mr. Butts all he needed to do was muddy the waters.  Because of the political realities he took great case not to attack Jody Wilson-Raybould, an Indigenous woman.  He nibbled around the edges and attempted to raise doubts, to muddy the waters.

In a court of law if reasonable doubt is raised the accused is entitled to an acquittal.

In the case of the Justice Committee there is no true trier of fact so at the end of the day, no ruling was rendered.

Members of the Justice Committee on all sides essentially have their minds made up and can be expected to arrive at conclusions drawn along party lines.

 

Was doubt raised

From the press coverage of the Prime Minister’s subsequent comments to the media it would appear that he is convinced that his friend Mr. Butts succeeded in raising sufficient doubt and he is now parroting Mr. Butts’ mantra of confusion and misunderstanding, but no wrongdoing.   Mr. Butts muddied the water and the Prime Minister is the straw now stirring the muddied water in an attempt to  ensure the sediment does not settle.

Mr Butts was a competent witness and performed well in terms of adding confusion to the issue.  However,  it will not take long for the sediment stirred up by Mr. Butts to settle to the bottom.  In my view this attempts at muddying the water succeeded but only on a  temporary basis.  As he stated in his testimony  “facts are stubborn things”.

Facts  are indeed stubborn things and the facts presented by the former Attorney General  stand tall and speak for themselves, untarnished, untainted and powerful.

They will survive the current Liberal onslaught and survive in the minds of Canadians who in this case are the true triers of fact.

Canadians will render their decision on this matter on October 21st. 2019.

The Whistle Blew, Was Anyone Listening

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We know from the Quebec experience that even in a sophisticated developed country like Canada, some politicians at the municipal level engage in fraudulent activities for personal gain.

Over the years some Winnipeg contractors have bemoaned the fact that some company owners and contractors have had a too close and cosy relationship with civic politicians and senior civil servants in the area of property development.

A parcel of land may have a very low value based on how it is zoned.  If a zoning change or variance can be obtained the price of a given parcel of land can greatly increase in value overnight.

Zoning changes and variances are obtained through civic standing committees usually based on the advice of senior officials in the administration.

Then there is the whole issue of awarding city contracts which greatly broadens the field of play into areas such as  water and waste, road and building construction, snow clearing, garbage and recycling pickup and a host of other soft services such as consulting contracts which the city regularly enters into.

The problem has been that business owners and contractors have been  loath to come forward and file formal complaints because many rely heavily on city business for their livelihood.  They have not been confident that a complaint would result in the required changes, and they cannot afford to be black-balled.

Based on media reports it would appear that we are now in a position where a number of people with apparent knowledge of alleged wrong doing have come forward to police.  Naturally police need to establish the credibility of the individuals coming forward and  assess the validity and reliability of the information they are providing.  If the individuals are credible and the information passes the initial test, there would appear to be a basis to initiate an investigation.

Lets hope that the appropriate approaches were used to ensure this matter was dealt with properly and that an opportunity was not lost.

Corruption at any level of government undermines both democratic principles and the workings of a  free market economy.  All available steps must be taken to investigate and prosecute corruption.