Coast Salish Territories/Vancouver – On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the removal of former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and former Treasury Board President Jane Philpott from the federal Liberal caucus and dropped them as election candidates for the party.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), stated “We are absolutely disgusted that Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott have been kicked out of the Liberal Caucus and dropped as candidates because they chose to act honorably and with integrity regarding the SNC-Lavalin scandal rather than kowtow to Liberal political pressure. Apparently, this equates to being “untrustworthy” in the shifty eyes of Justin Trudeau, who is clearly committed to propping up cronyism and the old boys’ network.”
He continued, “SNC-Lavalin faces charges of serious corruption and fraud in Libya under the notorious dictator Muammar Gaddafi, charges that Trudeau and his party are ready to sweep under the rug via a deferred prosecution agreement that will result in nothing more than fines for the company. This type of shoddy, slimy backroom politics, is the exact opposite to the ‘new kind of government’ that Trudeau and his sunny ways promised. How can the Liberals be considered a united team if members of their office have inappropriately sought to interfere with and undermine Jody Wilson-Raybould’s actions regarding the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin?”
“The government of Canada has hit yet another low in its treatment of Indigenous peoples today,” stated Kukpi Judy Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer of the UBCIC. “Justin Trudeau’s ministerial mandate letters all claim that ‘no relationship is more important to Canada than the one with Indigenous peoples.’ This couldn’t be further from the truth, as the first Indigenous Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was kicked out of caucus for upholding the law. We hold up our hands to Jody Wilson-Raybould for her fierce advocacy, honesty, and commitment to speak the truth and we applaud Dr. Philpott for standing up for our government’s democratic institutions and refusing to stay quiet while the Liberal Party incited a gaslighting of Wilson-Raybould to justify their own unconscionable behavior, including lying to the public about inappropriately pressuring Wilson-Raybould.”
