How the SNC Lavalin affair compares to the sins of past governments

OTTAWA (660 NEWS) – There could be another major breakthrough for the SNC Lavalin scandal.

The prime minister’s former right-hand man and principal secretary, Gerald Butts, is expected to speak about what happened.

This is tantamount to the sponsorship scandal according to a political scientist at Mount Royal University, Duane Bratt.

He argues this scandal raises questions about the state of Canadian democracy.

“They go well beyond the Trudeau Government. We know SNC Lavalin was lobbying heavily, Andrew Scheer as well, and it is likely that if the Conservatives had been in power they would have been dealing with the same sorts of issues.”

Bratt said the most comparable controversy to SNC Lavalin is the sponsorship scandal that plagued the Liberal party in the late 90s and early 2000s.

“It was illegal, people went to jail but it didn’t reach the upper echelon of the government. (Jean) Chretien wasn’t involved, senior cabinet ministers weren’t involved.”

He does believe the scandal is a real threat to the Liberal party.

“I’m not sure we are dealing with illegality, we are dealing with ethics, but they are much more serious charges about political interference in the judicial system and it touches all of the top people in Ottawa.”

Butts was often seen as Justin Trudeau’s right-hand man, so his testimony could be important.

“I think he had prepared it but after (Jane) Philpott’s resignation they need to go back to the drawing board.”

Bratt noted that some Liberal supporters may draw a comparison to the Senate expense scandal and Mike Duffy, but the Liberal party itself would probably want to avoid that correlation. That case involved a criminal investigation, something the Trudeau Government would likely want to avoid ahead of a fall election.

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