Two former ministers expelled from Canada’s Liberal Party over corruption scandal
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expelled Tuesday two former cabinet ministers from the Liberal Party of Canada as the scandal of a Québécois construction company continues to cause political damage in his government.
Jody Wilson-Raybould, the country’s former justice minister and attorney general, and Jane Philpott, the former president of the treasury board, were expelled on Tuesday, following a vote by members.
“The trust that previously existed between these two individuals and our team has been broken,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the meeting.
This comes in response to the recording of a phone call and other material that Wilson-Raybould released Friday as evidence to the alleged corruption of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. She initially submitted them to a parliamentary committee.
These documents show that government officials tried to persuade the Canadian justice minister to shield SNC-Lavalin from prosecution, putting a new pressure on Trudeau, who is facing a general election later this year.
The problems began two months ago when accusations surfaced that Trudeau pressured Wilson-Raybould to settle a criminal corruption case against SNC-Lavalin, which compelled the former minister of justice to resign. However, Trudeau denied that anything inappropriate took place.
The Québécois company was charged in 2015 with offering bribes worth nearly $48 million to Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011 in exchange for influencing government decisions under the Muammar Gaddafi regime to sign construction contracts.
The Montreal-based company also defrauded various Libyan organizations of about $130 million.
